Albus Potter and the Spellbinder
by allegratree
Summary: New friends, new enemies, lots of mystery, occasional humor. This story is based on the characters in the Harry Potter series as well as characters I've already created in "A Muggled Holiday" and "Lyandelors Key". You might want to read those first.
1. Diagon Alley

By mid-morning, the wizard Draco Malfoy was already having a poor day. His wife was away visiting her sister's family. He'd overslept. His morning coffee was cold. His mother had accosted him on the way to his study regarding some unflattering statements made about her in The Daily Prophet, clearly expecting him to rush off gallantly and "do something about it", though what he could only imagine. He'd received a letter from the Ministry of Magic informing him that he should expect a "follow-up inspection" of one of his businesses within the week. (The third one in a month.) And the gardener had knocked on his study door to inform him that he'd forgotten to dilute the growth potion he'd used on the Rose of Sharon, which in turn accomplished a height of forty-five feet and a habit of eating geese as they flew by. Therefore, he was not especially pleased when he glanced up from his books to discover the expectant face of his son, Scorpius, staring back at him from the other side of his desk.

"Dad, I've nothing to do!" he whined.

"Scorpius," he warned him, "You can see I'm working right now."

"But I'm bored!" he continued, "I don't have anything to do!"

"It's your summer vacation," his father encouraged, "Go outdoors…go practice Quidditch."

"You can't play Quidditch by yourself and besides, there's a blood-thirsty rosebush out there."

"Go for a walk in the park then," he suggested, thumbing through the pages he was working on. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to walk around by myself!"

"I reckon your grandmother would fancy a walk."

"Daaaaad!" Scorpius whined. Draco chuckled softly. He didn't blame his son for not rushing off to spend time with his grandmother after experiencing her mood first hand that morning.

"You know, you would have had Miss Crawford to play with again this summer if you hadn't run her off. You liked practicing your flying with her." Scorpius folded his arms and rolled his eyes defiantly.

"First of all, she was a _governess_, and I'm _twelve years old!_ Secondly, I did _not_ run her off." His father had risen from his desk to search for something in the file cabinet. He flicked his wand toward the top drawer, trying to summon the correct invoice from the many folders inside. The drawer shot open and several papers cascaded from the drawer, sorting and depositing themselves in a neat pile on Draco's desk.

"Last autumn when you went off to school, I asked her if we could expect her back for the summer," Draco continued, "I believe her exact words were, 'There's no amount of money in the world that would compel me to spend another day with that beastly little tyrant.'"

Scorpius sighed in exasperation and responded matter-of-factly. "In my defense, I did tell her that I don't care for studying French."

"In any event, I don't think she'll be returning."

"I'm so bored…" Scorpius whined again, "This is the most miserable summer ever!"

"Well, son. What is it you want me to do exactly?" he asked the boy as he continued to search for the document he needed.

"Maybe if I had a dog?"

"What?" he exclaimed, nearly turning his inkwell over in alarm.

"A dog?" Scorpius repeated trying to muster up his most appealing and hopeful expression.

"Son, I detest creatures. You know that," he reminded his son as he flicked his wand again, trying to usher the papers back into their folder, to no avail.

"But, dad…"

"No non-human life forms in the house!" he declared with sudden sternness and he flicked his wand again toward the papers on his desk. Suddenly, they jerked to life, shuffled themselves like a deck of cards, then shot out of sight, under a chest of drawers in the corner.

"Eugh! This useless, restricted wand!" he bellowed. Scorpius went over and fetched the papers out from under the chest.

"That's not fair, dad," he continued, unhindered by the difficulty his father was experiencing, "You let Wrinkles stay here and he's not a human!"

"Wrinkles is different. He's a house elf."

"He's not a human," Scorpius retorted.

"I'll tell you what, son. You find a dog that can polish silver, scrub carpets, dust antiques, or even ward off evil rose bushes and he's all yours. In the meantime, you are going to have to find something to occupy yourself until the new school term resumes." Scorpius sighed.

"Fine," he answered tersely and adopted his most disappointed-looking gait as he departed.

Back in his room, he collapsed on the bed. 'Maybe I'll brew a sleeping potion and just sleep until September,' he thought aloud. He glanced over at his desk where his school books sat. 'Maybe when Mum comes back from Aunt Lucinda's she'll order my new books. Guess you know your summer's shot when you look forward to doing homework!'

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a short popping sound coming from the next room. Scorpius rose from the bed and went in to find Wrinkles placing a soup tureen and a plate of sandwiches on the table in his sitting room.

"Good afternoon, Master Scorpius," the elf greeted cheerfully, "Wrinkles brought up your lunch, sir."

"Oh…thanks." The elf smiled broadly, bowed deeply, and went to disapperate, but suddenly Scorpius had a notion.

"Wrinkles?"

"Yes, Master Scorpius, sir?" the elf responded.

"I have an idea! Wait right here!" Wrinkles stood uneasily still as his young master ran off into the adjoining room where he could hear him rummaging through his drawers in search of something. Wrinkles was often glad that his family only had one child.

Moments later, Wrinkles was tentatively relieved when Scorpius returned carrying nothing but a blue, rubber ball.

"Now, this is what we're going to do, Wrinkles," the young master explained carefully, "I'm going to throw this ball." He held it up for Wrinkles to examine. "Then it will bounce all over the room, and you chase it and try to catch it. Then when you do, bring it here."

"Happily, Master Scorpius, sir." Wrinkles responded without much confidence. It didn't sound like a difficult task but he'd heard stories about boys Scorpius' age playing mean tricks on good house elves.

"Right. Let's try it!" Scorpius exclaimed and held up the ball and released it. The little ball shot around the room with the force of a bullet-train leaving angry dimples in the wall, smashing into the book case, and splashing beef broth from the soup tureen all over the table. Wrinkles dove under a chair in terror as it whizzed past him.

"Go get it, Wrinkles!" Scorpius encouraged gleefully.

"Yes, sir, Master Scorpius," Wrinkles cried obediently and he grabbed hold of the rubbish bin, leaping in the air to scoop up the blue blur lacrosse-style. Once the ball was stayed, he reached in among the scrap paper and soda bottles and gingerly retrieved it, wiped it carefully on the old stained tablecloth he always wore, and held it out to Scorpius.

"Wrinkles has caught your ball, sir," he announced, somewhat out-of-breath. Scorpius took it from his disappointedly.

"It's just not the same," he complained.

"Wrinkles is sorry, sir. Shall Wrinkles try again?"

"No," Scorpius conceded, "It's nothing you did wrong."

"If Wrinkles may say so, Master Scorpius, perhaps it's just as well. Master Lucius is wanting Wrinkles to hurry with lunch so that he can leave for Diagon Alley."

"Grandfather's going to Diagon Alley? When?"

"In just a few minutes, sir," explained the elf, then he added weakly, "Wrinkles is to accompany him, sir." Scorpius felt a pang of compassion for his house elf. He knew that Wrinkles was his grandfather's favorite and most convenient scapegoat. He imagined the only reason the old man had secured the elf's company for Diagon Alley was that Scorpius' mother was away visiting relatives. Wrinkles was her family's elf, given to the Malfoy's as part of her dowry and she wouldn't stand to see him abused by her inlaws.

"You stay here and clean up," Scorpius commanded him, "I'll ask Grandfather if I can go with you!" A meek smile of gratitude spread across Wrinkles face. Lucius Malfoy would be far less apt to abuse his daughter-in-law's elf with his grandson's impressionable eyes and free mouth present.

"Of course, Master Scorpius!" he replied with sudden cheerfulness.

Convincing his grandfather to let him accompany them to London was not at all difficult. He merely pointed out that the sooner he had his school books, the more he could study ahead and possibly earn more house points. Then to cinch the deal he suggested that Rose Weasley had probably already memorized her text books. Procuring pocket money from his father had been a little more difficult.

"Dad, may I have some money?" he requested, bursting into his study without so much as a 'how're-you-doing?'

"For what?" his father demanded.

"To spend in Diagon Alley," he explained, "Grandfather's taking me." "Why's he taking you?" Draco asked suspiciously.

"Because he loves me and he wants to spend time with me before I go back to Hogwarts." Draco grunted disbelievingly.

"That's rubbish, that is!"

"And…so I can get my textbooks early and possibly beat Rose Weasly in our potions lab."

"Ah, that's far more likely," responded his father, but he still seemed concerned.

"I can go, can't I?" Scorpius asked, a little worried that his father might say he wasn't allowed.

"It's going to be mad down there," commented Draco.

"Well…I'll be with Grandfather and Wrinkles…and I am twelve years old, after all," he added defensively.

"You'll stay together?"

"Sure, Dad."

"All right then, here," he agreed and handed him a small bag of gold from his desk drawer.

"Don't flash that about!" he warned him, "You need to get your textbooks and new school robes out of that besides candy, ice cream, or whatever else you've got in mind."

"I can take care of it. I'm responsible."

"Mind your grandfather." Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Yes!" Draco commanded.

"Yes, sir," he agreed begrudgingly.

"All right then, go on."

Minutes later, Scorpius was standing outside the Leaky Cauldron while his grandfather choked and sputtered from the Floo Network soot in his aged lungs.

"Filthy, common way to travel," he grumbled as he dusted the soot from his robes, "If it wasn't for the Ministry's restriction on us, I could have done a side-along apparation and brought you here.

"Don't worry, Grandfather," Scorpius reminded him with a touch of mischief in his tone, "In a few years, I'll be able to side-along apparate you!" He didn't get the irritated look he'd expected from his grandfather, rather it was uncommon look of pride.

"That's true enough, boy," he agreed, "It won't be long."

They made their way through the alley past large crowds of shoppers, workers, and unsupervised children. Wrinkles followed behind them with an air of protectiveness, ruefully eyeing a group of unkempt-looking teenage boys who had ceased their loud, spirited conversation to glare at the Malfoy patriarch menacingly as he passed by.

The first stop they made was the clothiers, for new school robes.

"Mr. Malfoy," greeted the shopkeeper with un-genuine shopkeeper enthusiasm, "We haven't seen you in such a long time."

"My grandson has outgrown his school robes," Lucius Malfoy stated, ignoring the salutation, "We need to take care of them before they're mistaken for a pinafore."

"Well, I'd be happy to take the hems down for you," she smiled warmly at Scorpius, who answered with a brief smile, than looked down at the floor. "They do nothing but grow at that age."

"I think we can provide him with new ones," he responded with indignation, "He'll feel much more comfortable starting school in new things." The shopkeeper's smiled faded briefly at his gruffness then returned as she answered, "Of course, Mr. Malfoy! Whatever you think is best." Scorpius said nothing. While he felt the shopkeeper had good intentions, neither she nor his grandfather needed to know that one of his school robes had a large patch across backside while the other had scorch marks down both sleeves and something sticky that wouldn't come out just under the crest.

A half hour and about fifty sharp pins later, the Malfoys stood at the counter and Wrinkles stood beside them, loaded down with parcels.

"A handsome little man you've got there, Mr. Malfoy," the shopkeeper cooed as Scorpius counted out the gold to pay her, "He certainly favors your side of the family."

"He does in appearance, anyway," he grunted, but he laid a hand on Scorpius' head with dignified affection. After the clothiers shop, were the obligatory trips to the apothecary, to the bookstore, and past the boy-crowded window where the latest broomsticks were displayed. This of course, caught Scorpius' eye and he had to stop and see the newest and fastest models available.

"Do you want a new broomstick?" his grandfather asked him. Scoprius laughed. "I've had two since last summer! I've only just gotten used to the one I'm riding now!"

"Suit yourself. You're eligible to try out for your house team this year and a Quiditch player is only as good as their equipment."

"Not if they keep changing it so they don't have a chance to learn how it works!" Malfoy seemed to accept the logic of this argument and they continued past the shop with Wrinkles, now almost invisible under his many packages, struggling subserviently behind them. It was getting close to dinner, and Scorpius suggested they stop to eat at a café on the corner. His grandfather didn't seem to like the look of the place. It was crowded and a stage was being set up immediately outside for some sort of concert. However, he didn't protest and they managed to find a table without much trouble.

While they waited on their food, Malfoy asked his grandson about school and told him stories about his own days at Hogwarts. Scorpius normally hated spending time with his grandfather, who was so often angry, rude, and judgmental to the point of irrationality, but he was surprised to find that he was enjoying the pleasant nature of the outing. His grandfather didn't even get upset when he fed nearly all of his chips to Wrinkles under the table and he even offered to treat his grandson to an ice cream sundae.

The concert was underway by the time the Malfoys emerged from the café and there was a thick and raucous crowd gathered around the stage.

"Take those home and come straight back!" Malfoy ordered elf under the pile of boxes and bags on the walkway beside them and they disappeared with a pop. Malfoy led his grandson through the growing crowd to the candy kitchen on the other side of the square. Once inside, he examined his watch.

"Scorpius, I want you to stay right here. I'm going to take care of some business and I'll be right back."

"But, Grandfather," Scoprius argued, "I promised Dad I would stay with you."

"Well, I'm telling you to stay here," he answered, his voice taking on a tinge of anger, "And I expect you to do so. Stay in this shop, eat candy, listen to obnoxious music, and don't get into any trouble." Scorpius crossed his arms.

"You're going to Knockturn Alley aren't you?" he accused.

"It isn't your business where I'm going," he retorted, his eyes getting angrier. He didn't like to be contradicted, "Your business is to be in this shop when I get back. You're twelve year old. You ought to be able to handle being alone for a few minutes." Scorpius shrugged.

"Yeah, of course I can."

"Well, I should think so! Stay out of trouble." And with that, his grandfather disappeared into the mob outside the shop.

"I thought he'd never leave!" came a voice behind him. Scorpius turned around to discover the familiar visage of Albus Potter, peeking at him from behind a display of lollypops, one of which protruded from his mouth. At his side was a little girl of perhaps nine or ten, red braids hanging down past her shoulders and a curious expression in her eyes.


	2. Lost

"What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked.

"Watching Teddy's concert," explained Albus.

"Teddy's concert?"

"Our friend Teddy. You remember him?" Scorpius gave an incredulous snort.

"How could anyone forget him?"

"Well, he's the drummer." Scorpius glanced through the window to the stage beyond the street where Teddy Lupin sat behind a trap set, having what looked to Scorpius like a fits of convulsions.

"What are you doing?" Albus asked him.

"Getting my school stuff," he answered with a shrug.

"Albus?" the little girl called, pulling at her brother's arm, "Do we have to buy these now?" Albus turned and looked at her. She'd opened a box of bite-sized chocolate frogs and they'd all escaped, clinging to her arms, braids, robe, and forehead.

"Lily!" Albus cried, "What did you do? Uncle Ron only gave us one sickle each!" Lily's expression became very worried as one of the frogs left a chocolate smear as it scrambled across her face.

"Don't worry," Scorpius laughed as he plucked a frog from her shoulder and took a bite, "I've got you covered." Lily beamed at him. After Scorpius paid for the candy, Albus invited him to come and enjoy the concert with his family.

"I can't," he responded, "I have to wait on my grandfather. He'll be back in just a minute and I promised I'd stay right here."

"Suit yourself, mate."

As Scorpius' friend left the shop and disappeared into the crowd, he settled at a table by the window and watched the witches and wizards dancing and cheering as the band played. He was enjoying himself so much that it was nearly an hour when he first glanced up at the clock and realized how long it had been since his grandfather left. His stomach filled up with nervousness but he reasoned with himself that he was probably being held up by the crowd. Another half hour went by and his nervousness began to turn into anger. What was taking so long? How long did his grandfather expect him to wait? He glanced over at the counter attendant. The shop was full of customers and he hadn't noticed how long Scorpius had been sitting there. He wondered if he should ask for help but he knew his grandfather would be furious if Scorpius called attention to them for no good reason. Another half hour went by as well as a parade of faces in and out of the shop. Some were people he knew and others he didn't recognize. The light in the sky was beginning to go pink when his worried thoughts were interrupted by the return of Lily Potter, this time accompanied by her cousin Rose Weasley.

"You're still here?" Lily asked him.

"Yes," he responded, sitting up and trying his best not to look terrified.

"I thought you said your grandfather was coming soon."

"I did. He is. I'm sure he'll be here soon." Rose's face wrinkled thoughtfully.

"How long has he been gone?" Scorpius shrugged in embarrassment.

"Uh…er…

"Since the concert started," Lily answered for him.

"Scorpius, are you all right?" Rose asked gently, "Do you want us to wait with you?"

"What? No…I'm sure…I'll be fine. He just had to run a errand."

"What kind of errand?" Rose demanded.

"I'm not really sure," he answered truthfully. Rose examined him with a concerned expression.

"Well," she said finally, "You know my family is here, watching the concert. Uncle Harry's here too. We're all over there… near the edge of the stage." She pointed out the window toward the other side of the street.

"If you need any help…"

"Thanks," he interrupted, "But I'm fine." Rose stared at him as if she didn't want to leave him, but finally, she took Lily's hand and led her out of the shop.

"D'you think we should we tell Daddy?" Lily whispered to her as they left. Scorpius secretly hoped they would.

The customers were beginning to thin out as the families began to leave the concert and be replaced with groups of high-spirited and wild-looking youths. The shopkeeper had finally noticed his extended presence and was shooting him irritated glances as he wiped down the counters and starting a mopping spell on the floor. Scorpius reckoned he was wondering what he was supposed to do if Scorpius was still there when it came time to close. He fought back tears as he worried about the same thing. The sky began to darken and he became more and more distressed. Suddenly, the lights in the shop went out. He looked over at the shopkeeper who flicked his wand to extinguish the 'open' sign in the window. He held open the door and looked at Scorpius.

"All right, kid. Out you go." Scorpius took a deep breath and shuffled out into the street. He was considering the ramifications of leaving his grandfather and heading back to the Leaky Cauldron and the Floo Network, when he spied Mr. Potter heading toward him, pulled by Albus and Lily and followed by Rose, Albus' mother and brother, and several other people he'd never seen before.

"There he is, Dad!" he heard Albus say as they approached. Harry Potter examined the boy standing in front of the sweet shop looking confused and frightened.

"Scorpius, what's happened?" he asked him gently. Scorpius looked at the ground.

"Well…um…I was…I'm here with my grandfather and he's…um…"

"How long have you been waiting here?" It was getting harder for Scorpius to fight back tears.

"Um…since the concert began."

"Well, Merlin's Beard, Scorpius! Why didn't you ask for help four hours ago?"

"Um…I just…I didn't think…"

"The old man's probably off doing something illegal and he doesn't want him to get in trouble," interrupted a red-haired man Scorpius assumed was Rose's father.

"That's not helpful, Ronald," hissed the woman next to him.

"Do you know where your grandfather went, Scorpius?" Mr. Potter asked him. He shook his head.

"You don't know or you can't tell me?" Scorpius drew his breath sharply. He'd suddenly realized what Mr. Potter had already taken into consideration. Mr. Potter was an auror. In fact, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. If Scorpius' grandfather had gotten involved in something illegal, Mr. Potter could have him arrested.

"I…I really don't know."

"You don't know, but you have an guess." He shrugged.

"I have an guess as well," muttered Rose's father, "A few guesses in fact." Anger suddenly seized Scorpius.

"You don't know anything!" he snarled, "Why don't you mind your own business?" Mr. Potter placed his hand on his shoulder.

"How about if I take you home and explain to your parents what happened?"

"But, what if my grandfather comes back here looking for me?" asked Scorpius but Mr. Potter's reply was cut short by a frantic cry from amid the crowd.

"Master Scorpius!"

"Wrinkles?" Scorpius called. Suddenly the little elf burst free from the mob of concert goers crying, "Master Scorpius! Wrinkles has found you!" He was followed close behind by Scorpius' father who rushed forward and embraced his son with extreme relief.

"Dad, I'm so sorry!" Scorpius cried, "Grandfather said he'd be right back! I didn't know what to do!"

"It's all right, son. It's all right. We'll talk about it at home. You aren't in trouble."

"Is everything okay, Draco?" Mr. Potter asked.

"I appreciate your concern, Potter," he replied though it was obvious he didn't mean it, "But the situation is under control."

"Your son has been sitting here for over four hours!" Mrs. Potter interjected.

Malfoy's reply was sarcastic. "As you can see… Mrs. Potter… I've already been made aware of that fact and I'd rather like to get my boy home and comfortable…" he turned and addressed Mr. Potter, "If I'm free to do so."

"Of course you're free to do so. It's only that Scorpius seemed concerned for his grandfather's safety, having been waiting on him for quite some time now. I was wondering if there was something I could do to help you find him." Malfoy smiled a false smile at Potter and patted Scorpius on the shoulder, guiding him away.

"Grandfather is safe at home. Our house elf found him and brought him back safely, so I'm happy to say that we have no need of your services. Good evening, Potter. Do enjoy this lovely concert with your family."

"Just a moment, Mr. Malfoy. I was curious as to what could possibly cause your father to be held up for such a long time, especially with his grandson alone in a crowded street." Malfoy sighed in exasperation. It was clear he just wanted to get away. He responded in a calculated manner as if trying to say as little as was necessary to gain his freedom.

"It seems that while running an errand, my father ran into some trouble."

"The kind of trouble that keeps a man away from his grandson for near to four hours? That sounds to me like the kind of trouble the Aurors ought to know about." The mock pleasantness drained from Malfoy's face. He pressed his lips together in anger and when he spoke, his voice was strained as though it was difficult for him not to become emotional.

"You see, Potter, it's the sort of trouble that the Aurors, that the whole Ministry of Magic has been aware of for quite some time and has been unable, or unwilling, to deal with. It's the sort of trouble that we are left to fend off ourselves and that is exactly what I'm trying to do. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Draco, if you trusted me, I promise we'd try to help."

"Of course. The Aurors only want to help. I'm sure my father found that very assuring this evening when he was trying to defend himself against an angry thug using a restricted wand." Scorpius waited for Mr. Potter's reply but none came. He seemed to be considering carefully what to say next when Malfoy spoke first.

"Just leave us alone, Potter. We aren't asking for anything more."

"We're not looking to cause you any trouble…" Potter began.

"Aren't you?" Malfoy interrupted coldly, "And just when am I going to be able to walk out of my own front door without finding your surveillance agents swinging from the trees in my orchard? When am I going to be able to take my family on holiday without having to worry about being allowed back in the country? When are the not-so-random raids on my home and businesses going to stop? You've been through my vault at Gringott's literally hundreds of times! I'm told your own father-in-law keeps more illegal objects displayed on his mantle piece than you've ever found in there! Tell me, when am I going to have my wand restored to me? When am I going to be allowed to freely use the power that is my birthright?"

"You chose your path…"

"Did I? I certainly don't remember having much of a choice."

"You didn't have to become a Deatheater."

"I was sixteen years old and it was all I knew. It was all I'd ever been taught and I served six years in Azkaban…"

"Six years hardly seems just to the families of the innocent people you killed!" Mr. Weasley shouted as his wife clutched his arm and tried to persuade him not to interfere.

"I never killed anyone!" he cried in rage.

"You would have!" Weasley retorted.

"I didn't!"

"No, you didn't," Potter interrupted trying to restore the calm, "I know that you didn't, but you were a Deatheater. You supported Voldemort."

"And if I'd refused my family would have been among the dead and the un-mourned dead at that. When was the last time you heard a lament for the Slytherin families that did choose to refuse the Dark Lord? Most of them were murdered during the first war. Where were the aurors when that was happening?" Again, Potter didn't seem to have an answer or perhaps he elected to keep silence.

"Just leave us alone, Potter. That's all I'm asking you. I'm going to take my son home now and try to explain what's happened tonight."

Potter nodded and stood aside.

"I wish you well both well," he said in parting.

"I wish I could believe you," Malfoy retorted and he took his son's hand and led him down the alley.

"Bye," Albus called to Scoprius softly and his little sister waved.

"See you at school," Scorpius responded and as soon as they were out of earshot he told his father, "I believe Mr. Potter does want to help us."

"Even if he does, he can't," his father stated.

"But dad, maybe if.."

"Scorpius, please be quiet. It's been a very stressful night. Let's just go home and rest." Scorpius nodded eagerly.

"Okay, Dad," he agreed.


	3. The Muggles

A week had passed since the disastrous evening in Diagon Alley and Scorpius' summer was going much better due to a rather unscrupulous deal he'd made with his grandfather. The next day, following breakfast, he'd been summoned to his grandparents' chambers where his grandfather was recuperating from the ordeal he'd suffered while prowling around Knockturn Alley.

"What happened to you, Grandfather?" the boy had asked as he sat down in a chair beside the aging wizard, "Who did this?"

"That's not any of your concern, boy," replied the senior Malfoy in a gruff manner.

"But Grandfather, I want to know!" exclaimed Scorpius.

"There's only three things you need to know, my boy," he explained, "One, I'm safely home. Two, your mother is never to hear about any of this. And three, there's a box for you at the foot of the bed." And indeed, there was a box at the foot of the bed and from it came a soft rustling sound. Scorpius had opened it to reveal wriggling, warm mass of fawn fur with soft, chocolate-colored ears and a curly tail. Scorpius lifted the puppy from the box with delight and only let him out of his sight at mealtimes when Wrinkles insisted he stay in the kitchen and eat from a silver bowl on the floor. His father was not at all pleased with the new arrival, which Scorpius decided to call Bandit due to the mask-like markings around his eyes, but he held his silence and did not demand Bandit's eviction.

Days passed, Scorpius' mother returned from her trip, and the family was returning to normal. He spent quite a lot of time walking through the grounds, accompanied by Bandit who would race ahead of him barking ferociously at birds and squirrels, then remain behind as Scorpius passed him, sniffing curiously at the leaves and brush. The grounds around the Malfoy home were expansive and included a vast meadow of prairie grasses as well as a small pond surrounded by a wooded area and bordering a nature reserve that rarely saw human traffic. Scorpius often flew his broomstick freely through the grounds and had spent most of his childhood wandering the park. He almost never saw any sign of other people around and when he did, it never concerned him. He knew there was a concealment charm surrounding the whole house and throughout the park so no muggles could see him or manage to find their way onto the Malfoy's property. So he wasn't at all alarmed when he noticed the sound of children's voices echoing through the trees. Bandit's ears perked up at the sound and he looked up at his master with an expectant whimper.

"Hush, Bandit," Scorpius told him, "Let's go and see." They followed the little path down the steep embankment and the voices grew louder and louder. Once at the bottom of the hill, Scorpius made his way along the bed of a stream which the summer heat had dried up to a trickle. Through the reeds and brush he began to see flashes of color as he drew nearer to the small group of children. He knew the brook was the border of the concealment charm so he chose a spot on a large rock, several feet back from a bend in the brook where he had an excellent, open view to spy on the strangers.

"This is kinda fun," he commented to Bandit who rested his chin lazily on his cross-trainer.

Scorpius saw a group of five children wandering noisily through the stream bed. They were all a variety of ages, four boys, one girl, all filthy. Scorpius noticed the smallest child, a boy with brown, curly hair and glasses was the filthiest of all. In fact, he looked as though he'd fallen in a mud puddle multiple times. The children's clothing looked worn and faded. 'Probably second-hand', he reasoned to himself. None of the children were wearing any socks. The girl's hair was in a matted ponytail that looked like it hadn't been brushed out in days. The older boys' hair had been shaved nearly to the scalp. Scorpius was half-inclined to believe that they resided in a cave somewhere in the woods. They stopped along the bend in the stream, the only place where the three inches of water gathered in a sizable pool.

"Look! Tadpoles!" cried the little boy with the curly hair, running up to the water. Then to Scorpius' surprise and disgust, one of the two older boys pushed the smaller boy with full force into the water. The tallest boy in the group began to laugh hysterically as the little boy got to his knees, sputtering and weeping, his glasses lost in the water.

"It's not funny!" cried the girl and the other small boy moved to try and help the victim.

"Leave him alone!" demanded the bully in a raspy voice.

"My glasses!" the smallest boy wailed.

"If you knock him down again, I'm gonna tell Mrs. Cochran on you!" the girl threatened bravely, positioning her hands on her hips. The bully spun around and glared at the girl. He grabbed a large tree branch from among the rocks and swung it at her screaming, "What did you say to me?" The girl backed up against the roots of a large tree that had fallen across the creek bed. The bully rounded on her and raised the branch to strike her.

"Hey!" Scorpius screamed at the top of his lungs and the bully spun around, shielding his eyes against the sun, and scanned the trees in Scorpius' direction. Instinctively, Scorpius slid from his rock and hid among the brush, though he knew they couldn't see him.

"Who said that?" the bully demanded.

"Who said what?" the tall boy answered.

"I just heard someone shouting!"

"I didn't hear anything," he responded and he plucked a rock from the creek bed and launched it at the smaller boys who were searching frantically through the water for the lost glasses. As her tormenter's attention was divided, the girl scampered up the roots of the tree and began crawling across the creek bed on its trunk. The bully shouted at her ragefully and wildly struck at the tree trunk until his branch broke in half.

Scorpius ran through the brush toward the girl, thinking to help her to the other side. He could hear Bandit's panting behind him. The tree trunk began to get too narrow and the girl was trying desperately to get to her feet as the two older boys threw stones at her. Scorpius arrived at the top of the tree trunk and pulled out his wand just as the girl tumbled over the back of it.

"_Wingardium Leviosa!" _he cried and to his relief he felt the pull on the tip of his wand indicating he'd caught her on the other side. The boy's eyes fell to the ground where they expected the girl to land on the sharp rocks but when that didn't happen they looked at each other in confusion.

"Where is she?" squeaked the tall boy.

"How do I know?" asked the other boy angrily. Suddenly, there was a collective gasp as the girl was lifted by an unseen force from behind the tree trunk, kicking and screaming her head off, and floated gently to the embankment on the other side. The boys all began to shout and Scorpius heard the echoes of terrified shrieks and panicked footsteps disappear around the bend as he gazed at the girl and concentrated on gently lowering the girl to the ground. When he took his eyes off her at last, only the bully remained staring in Scorpius' direction, slack jawed in fear and amazement. Then Scorpius' stomach lurched as he came to the realization that the muggle boy could see him. He must have stepped outside of the concealment charm! He stood frozen, not knowing what to do, hoping perhaps he was wrong, that the boy was merely looking in his direction and not at him at all. They stood in silence for so long that Scorpius nearly dropped his wand in surprise when the boy demanded, "Who are you?" Scorpius brandished his wand instinctively and the boy flinched. On the other side, the girl had gotten unsteadily to her feet and was tearing through the trees in terror. Bandit had taken his cue and began to bark at the bully with as much ferocity as puppy can possibly muster. Scorpius kept his wand raised toward the bully and scooped up his puppy, then disappeared into the trees.

Scorpius ran through the woods toward home as fast as he could go and he didn't slow or stop until he was safely inside the garden gate. He let Bandit down and collapsed on a rod iron bench, gasping for air. Unsure of what to do or say.

"I may…be going…to prison…Bandit!" he moaned between gasps. Bandit whimpered and tilted his head in curiosity.

"Prison's a bad place, Bandit. That's where you go when you break the law and I just seriously broke the law!" Bandit tilted his head the opposite direction and whimpered supportively, as if he fully appreciated his master's predicament.

"I hope I haven't gotten my parents in even more trouble with the Ministry!" he continued worriedly. Suddenly, Wrinkles appeared before them with a pop.

"Nothing!" Scorpius cried defensively and Bandit barked angrily at having been so suddenly disturbed.

"Wrinkles doesn't understand, sir," he replied to the unorthodox greeting, "But Master Scorpius' mother is wanting him to come to dinner, sir."

"Oh…right. I'll be there in just a minute," agreed Scorpius. Wrinkles disappeared with another pop, causing Bandit to get worked up and bark rapidly again.

"I'd better tell dad before this gets even worse," he reasoned out loud, "There's no telling what those muggle kids are likely to do!"

The next morning, Scorpius sat with his mother and father at the breakfast table when the mail arrived. Scorpius groaned with worry, even though his mother and father has assured him that the worst that was going to happen was that they'd get a fine and possibly an extra Ministry raid on their house. More likely than not, the Ministry wouldn't even notice since it had happened practically on their own property. His father thumbed through the mail nonchalantly and extracted an envelope with the dreaded Ministry of Magic crest on the front. He held it out for Scorpius to see, who glanced at it and slunk down into his chair.

"Might as well open it, my love," suggested Mrs, Malfoy as she sipped calmly at her breakfast tea.

"Let us see how much this little lesson is going to cost us," he answered dryly as he opened the envelope and pulled out the contents.

"_Dear Mr. Malfoy,_" he read aloud, "_The Magical Restriction Office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, after a thorough investigation of your activities and record, has recommended you be released from the restrictions you received upon the completion of your sentence at Azkaban Prison. Therefore, you may make an appointment to retrieve your wand at the main office of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, located within the Ministry of Magic Headquarters, in five business days following the receipt of this notification…" _Draco Malfoy trailed off and looked up at his family in disbelief.

"Well, that was certainly unexpected!" Mrs. Malfoy exclaimed.

"Unexpected and unbelievable," added her husband.

"It was Mr. Potter!" Scorpius insisted, "I told you he wanted to help us, Dad!"

"I'll believe it when I see it!" he retorted and with an air of indifference, dropped the envelope on the pile of mail and finished his breakfast.


	4. Draco Malfoy's Wand

Draco Malfoy did as the notification from the Ministry suggested and made an appointment at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to collect his wand. The family was tense for the week leading up to the appointment. Scorpius was afraid that any minute a notification would arrive saying it was all a mistake and he was doubly afraid that it would be because of what he'd done. Both he and his parents had agreed it was best for him to stay in the house for a while following the mishap with the children in the park. So, Scorpius spent most of his time studying, playing with Bandit, and helping his mother in her greenhouse.

During one uncomfortably quiet dinner, Scorpius' grandfather broke the silence to complain about his grandson's inactivity.

"Why on earth are you spending your summer vacation sitting around in a greenhouse and playing with a puppy?" Scorpius shrugged.

"You bought him that puppy, Father," Draco reminded him from behind his copy of The Daily Prophet.

"That's beside the point! The summer before your second year, Draco, I couldn't wrench that broomstick out from under your backside to save my life! How does he expect to make his house team if he doesn't practice?"

"I don't even know if I want to try out," Scorpius blurted out.

"Why not, dear? You love Quidditch," asked his mother gently. Scorpius shrugged again.

"There's lots of good players on the team already…"

"I'm sure they can use another, son. Besides, last year's seeker graduated and that's your best position."

"Yeah, but…"

"But what?" interrupted his grandfather, "Your father was the seeker for his team. You're genetically predestined for greatness."

"That's not particularly encouraging."

"Why's that, son?"

"Because Albus Potter's in Slytherin as well and you have to know he's been drooling after the seeker position." Everyone considered the problem quietly as they picked at their dinner.

"I wouldn't throw in the towel just yet, son," Draco told him after a while, "I mean, he _is_ half Weasley."

"So, you think I should still try out?"

"Yes, we do."

"You won't be mad if they choose Albus instead of me?"

"It will never happen," insisted his grandfather.

"No, dear, of course we won't be mad," his mother assured him.

"Not at all," his grandmother agreed.

"At least, not at you," his father contributed.

After dinner, Scorpius and his father went out to practice chasing the snitch around the meadow. Scorpius felt a little bit better knowing his family wasn't going to disinherit him if he didn't manage to take the seeker position. Now if only he could be certain his best friend wouldn't hate him if he did…

On the day of the appointment at the Ministry, Scorpius begged his father to let him accompany him.

"Don't be disappointed, son, if it doesn't work out the way we hope."

"I won't," he lied.

Arriving at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Scorpius noticed Mr. and Mrs. Potter talking to a group of aurors near the entrance.

"Look, Dad!" he cried.

"What are you doing here?" his father asked them suspiciously.

"I work here," Mr. Potter explained with mock innocence, "Didn't you know?" Draco's eyes narrowed and he ushered Scorpius toward the receptionist desk whispering, "I have a bad feeling about all this."

The receptionist's eyes fell as they approached.

"I have an appointment to collect my wand," he told her as he set the notification letter down in front of her.

"Mr. Malfoy, I'm sorry," she said nervously, "You're going to have to come back another day."

"Another day? The letter says I have to wait five business days and I made an appointment."

"I'm sorry, sir. There's been a…"

"That's not fair!" Scorpius exclaimed angrily, "The letter said…"

"Is there a problem, Eunice?" Mr. Potter suddenly interrupted. Eunice flustered.

"It's just that Maxwell, the office notary, had to call in today for a family emergency. So, we can't do the paperwork without…"

"Now Eunice, that doesn't sound like such a insurmountable problem to me. Surely there's another notary loafing around somewhere in the Ministry headquarters."

"Yeah, probably," she admitted sheepishly. Mr. Potter continued.

"Draco Malfoy has come all the way down here with an appointment to get his wand so why don't we see what we can do to help?"

"I could send a note up to the Office of Licensing," she offered, "Maybe they have someone…"

"That won't be necessary, Eunice," came the voice of Mrs. Potter, "I'm a registered notary."

"There now, isn't that convenient?" Mr. Potter asked as he took his wife's arm, "How fortunate we are that I just so happened to stop by with my lovely wife, who just happens to be a registered notary and who just happens to have brought her official notary seal with her today." Everyone stared at Mr. Potter. It was Eunice who finally broke the silence.

"I'll just go and prepare the documents."

"So, Scorpius," asked Mr. Potter as soon as Eunice disappeared into the back of the office, "Are you ready for your second year at Hogwarts?"

"Nearly," he answered shyly, "My dad's helping me get ready for Quidditch tryouts."

"Well, good luck to you! Quidditch is a great game! My son James plays seeker for his house team."

"I know that, sir."

"Curious thing though. My younger son, Albus, has been talking about nothing but playing Quidditch since he was a toddler, but now all of a sudden he seems reluctant to try out. How do you account for a change like that?"

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to play against his own brother?" Scorpius' father suggested. Mr. Potter laughed aloud and Mrs. Potter said,

"You don't know our boys, Draco. The sibling rivalry in our household would make Regsaic the Horrible and Vicerak the Conqueror shake hands and say, 'Can't we all just get along?'"

"Just out of curiosity, Scorpius, what position are you thinking of going out for?" Scorpius' smile suddenly fell. He wondered if the great Harry Potter also possessed mind reading capabilities.

"Well, seeker really is my best position…" Mr. Potter chuckled.

"Now, how did I know you were going to say that?" Scorpius shrugged and looked up and Mr. Potter. He was still smiling. He seemed more bemused than upset.

"Good old Quidditch," he said happily, "You know I've developed some of the best friendships I've ever had playing Quidditch, including this one." He kissed his wife on the head. "Do you know what a good friend does for you, Scorpius?"

"Sir?"

"A good friend inspires you to be the best person you can be, to never give up, and to go for your dreams. Wouldn't you agree, Draco?"

"What? Oh…I reckon that's about right."

"Al always tells me what a good friend you are to him and I know he wants to be a good friend to you as well."

"He is!" said Scorpius emphatically, "He's the best friend I've ever had!"

"Then I know I can count of the both of you to encourage each other to do your best, not only at those tryouts, but at every match." Scorpius smiled and nodded.

"After all, the important thing isn't who gets the spot on the roster but that one of you is there to take my James down a notch!" Scorpius laughed aloud at that and even his father had to hide a smile by pretending to examine a poster on the wall.

They were interrupted by the return of Eunice with the documents. Scorpius watched as his father signed them all and Mrs. Potter sealed them. Before he signed the last document, Eunice informed him that he had to take an oath. "Upon my honor," he read aloud, "I swear my wand shall never seek to deprive any person of life, liberty, or due justice."

"Hmm," he said as he signed the final document, "Maybe they should have made me say that when they gave me my wand in the first place."

"Would it have made a difference?" Mrs. Potter asked him.

"I suppose not," he admitted, "Some people get to learn the hard way." Finally, Eunice produced a long narrow box from a safe in the wall behind her which she handed to Draco. He opened it and pulled his wand from inside. The wand took on a glow as it touched his hand. He pursed his lips and Scorpius wondered if he was going to cry in front of the entire office.

"It seems to remember me," he murmured.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Eunice asked delicately, "I'm sorry, sir. I just need to check in the restricted wand." He pulled the restricted wand from his robes and handed it to Eunice. "Thank you, sir. You're free to go."

"Does it feel all right, dad?" Scorpius asked as they headed toward the main hall of the Ministry and the exit. He nodded.

"Like the day I got it." They all piled into the lift and Mr. Potter pushed the correct buttons. Suddenly, Draco turned to him.

"You did this for us. Thank you."

"No thanks needed, Draco. You've served your time and it's right that you should have it back."

"Do you know how long it's been since I last held my own wand? I don't think I really believed they still had it!" Mr. Potter nodded solemnly.

"I remember it well."

Draco looked up from his wand, slightly embarrassed. "I suppose you would, wouldn't you."

"What do you mean?" inquired Scorpius.

"Mr. Potter was the one who took it off me in the first place," Draco explained to his son.

"It was the wand I had in my hand when I faced Voldemort," Mr. Potter added and Draco looked quite surprised.

"I didn't know that."

"That's really cool, Dad!" cheered his son.

"Well…anyway…Thank you for whatever you did to make it happen. Do you think my parents…" Mr. Potter interjected, "I'm afraid that's a little more complicated. Their convictions are substantially more…" He paused, glancing down at Scorpius.

"I understand," Draco assured him, not really wanting his twelve-year-old exposed to an elaborate retelling of his grandparents' decades long resume of conspiracy and violence.

"Dad?" Scorpius asked, "May I invite Albus to spend the weekend?"

"Of course."

"Can Albus spend the weekend at my house, Mr. Potter? I've got a new puppy!" Mrs. Potter looked at her husband with raised eyebrows.

"I'll have to get back to you on that, Scorpius, but I'd say there's a strong possibility."

"Great! We can practice Quidditch together!"


	5. The Intruder

Albus did indeed come over to spend the weekend and Scorpius was thrilled to see his friend again. He arrived just as the family was sitting down to lunch and Wrinkles showed him in, broomstick and rucksack in tow.

"Albus!" cheered Scorpius, "You're here!"

"Hi, Scor!" Albus returned the greeting but his smile quickly faded when he saw the reaction of the rest of the Malfoys. Lucius Malfoy slammed his hand down on the tabletop, glaring menacingly at his son while his wife, Narcissa Malfoy, seemed to have temporarily forgotten how to swallow.

"What is this?" demanded the outraged wizard.

"What? What's wrong?" Draco asked with feigned ignorance.

"You know very well what's wrong! Why is this child in my dinning room?"

"It's a sleepover, Father. Scorpius asked if he could have his classmate spend the weekend with us," was Draco's nonchalant reply, "And I told him he could."

"And what do you have to say about this, Beatrice?" he demanded of his daughter-in-law.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're going on about!" she replied indignantly and to Albus she said, "Come in, dear. Sit right there, next to Scorpius. Have you had your lunch yet?"

"No, ma'am," he admitted nervously.

"Wrinkles, please serve our guest." Wrinkles produced a plate of egg and mayonnaise salad with triangles of toast and placed it neatly before the object of controversy, bowing with heartfelt gratitude when Albus actually took the trouble to thank him. It was all too much for Lucius who struck the table again in outrage.

"Really, Father!" Draco cried, "Must you start pounding? You're upsetting my tea!"

"I'll upset whatever I please! This is still my house!" Draco's reply was steady and calm.

"What do you want, Father?"

"I want you to take charge of your son and put a stop to this!" Draco raised an eyebrow and studied Scorpius who sat beside him, beet red with embarrassment at the unpleasantness his guest was experiencing. He sighed and addressed his boy with his most severe expression and tone.

"Scorpius, this scandal can continue no longer. You've fallen in with the wrong crowd and these shameless associations are a disgrace to the family name and will not be tolerated."

"But..Dad?" Scorpius whispered, clearly confused.

"Henceforth," Draco continued, "You will no longer be a Malfoy. You shall be flung out into the streets and have to go begging in clothing made from a burlap sack. You will no longer have time to attend school as you'll have to learn to support yourself. If you're lucky, you may find a muggle who will take you in as a servant and teach you to pitch hay for a living. Otherwise, you will certainly starve to death." Scorpius did his best to suppress a smile.

"Yes, sir," he responded, hanging his head in shame.

"How was that, Father?" Draco asked turning back toward Lucius.

"I suppose you find that amusing?" he retorted, shaking his head and bringing his forehead to rest in his hand as if he had a splitting headache, "I've done the best I can do with you lot. A man can only do so much."

"Don't worry, Scorpius," Albus whispered to his friend with oblivious concern, "You can stay with me! You won't have to pitch hay!"

"Oh, now look what you've done, you two!" Beatrice Malfoy scolded her husband and father-in-law, "Don't you pay Mr. Malfoy any attention, Albus. He's a raving lunatic, that's all. Scorpius is just fine. There will be no streets, no sack, and no pitching hay." Albus looked at Draco uncertainly.

"My wife is right," he assured him, "I'm quite mad. It runs in the family you know."

"Well, this was a lovely meal," announced Scoprius sarcastically, "Come on, Al. Let's go practice Quidditch!"

They spent the rest of the afternoon flying on their broomsticks through the grounds. They started off chasing the golden snitch through fragrant grasses and flowers in the meadow and then worked on agility in the hedge maze in the garden. As the sun descended in the sky and the shadows grew longer, they slowed their pace and flew lazily around the grounds, talking about the events of the summer and their plans for the next school term. Bandit had found his way outdoors and chased after them on the ground, barking joyfully.

"What's back there?" Albus asked him, gesturing toward the woods.

"There's a pond. We can go back there and see it if you want. Then further on there's a national park."

"Is that where that kid saw you do magic?"

Scorpius nodded and led him along the edge of the tree line, until they found the path which led down to the pond. The evening sun's blinding rays streaked through the trees and left patches of color in the dark green of the canopy. Scoprius touched down along the bank of the pond and Albus followed.

"Well this is it," he informed Albus, "It's nothing special. Sometimes we come out here to fish."

"I think it's brilliant!" disagreed Albus as he tentatively stepped onto a rickety-looking dock, "Can you swim in it?" Scorpius wrinkled up his nose. "I don't know. It doesn't look that clean and I'm not really a very good swimmer." Albus looked a little disappointed but he sat on the edge of the dock and looked down into the water.

"Wonder how deep it is," he thought aloud as Bandit caught up with them and ran happily past where he sat on the dock. Without a moment's hesitation, Bandit dove straight off the end of the dock, splashing Albus with pond water, and proceeded to swim around in circles like a hyperactive duck.

"Bandit! Come out of there!" Scorpius chastised and the dog quickly obeyed, scaled the bank of the pond, and greeted his master with muddy paws and a good shake off. Albus laughed.

"Scor, I think your dog is a Gryffindor!" Scorpius laughed and skipped a stone across the water.

"Do another one!" Albus commanded him and Scorpius complied, skipping it across the water toward Albus, who sent it flying across the water with a flash from his wand. Moments later, they were engaged in a heated match of stone-skipping-pond-surface-tennis. That is, until something caught Bandit's eye across the pond and he began to bark maniacly and run toward the opposite bank.

"What's that?" Scorpius called and he raced after Bandit leaving Albus on the dock. As he reached the other side, he observed a human shape disappearing into the trees.

"Hey! Who's there?" he demanded as he pushed his way through the thick underbrush, "How dare you trespass here!" He pulled free of the branches, only to trip over a root and land on his face. He scrambled to his knees and then, to his surprise, his own broomstick landed on the path directly in front of him. He looked up to find Albus suspended on his broomstick over his head.

"You'll never catch him that way, mate!" Scorpius quickly mounted his own broom and they sped through the woods in the direction the intruder had escaped.

"I see him ahead!" Albus called and they flew hard toward the fleeing figure. Suddenly, Scopius shouted for Albus to stop. Albus struggled to bring his broom to a hover.

"What?" he cried, "Why are we stopping? We could still catch him!"

"Our land only goes this far," Scorpius explained, out-of-breath, "If we fly into the park without an adult, we're breaking the Law for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Wizardry."

"Did you get a good look at him?" Albus asked and Scorpius shook his head no.

"Do you think it was someone from the Ministry?"

"No," Scorpius said with marked certainty, "He wasn't wearing robes."

"A muggle?"

"It couldn't be though. How'd he get past the concealment charms?" Albus shrugged, "Maybe something's wrong with them?"

"We should go back to the house and tell my Dad," Scorpius decided, "He'll know what to do."


	6. The Blanchette's

_Dear readers: This chapter is quite long and almost all dialogue. I'm trying to prune it down but I'm having difficulty deciding what needs to go. Any suggestions would be welcome. Because of all the dialogue, I'm also concerned that this chapter might be difficult to follow, so if you have difficulty telling who is speaking, please let me know. _

_Thanks,_

_Allegratree_

By the time the boys found Bandit and flew back to the house, the sky was shades of pink and orange and Wrinkles was preparing to serve dinner on the veranda.

"Good evening, boys," Mrs. Malfoy invited them, "You're just in time for dinner!"

"Where's Dad?" Scorpius asked urgently.

"Right here," his father responded as he strolled from the house into the veranda followed by his parents and another elderly witch and wizard Albus didn't know.

"Grandad! Nana!" Scorpius exclaimed, temporarily forgetting the trespasser in the woods. The second couple greeted their grandson with pride and affection and they all sat down at the table. Draco gave a flick of his wand and ignited a small fire pit that sat alongside the table and Albus got a good look at Scorpius' maternal grandparents in the warm glow. They seemed surprisingly pleasant and he couldn't imagine a couple more dissimilar from the Malfoys then the two people that were busy hugging Scorpius and lovingly commenting on how much he'd grown.

"Albus, these are my grandparents," Scorpius explained happily, "And this is my friend Albus Potter." Lucius Malfoy snorted loudly at the introduction but Scorpius' grandmother smiled and said, "How do you do?" and his grandfather shook Albus' hand.

"So very nice to meet you, young man," he said pleasantly, "I'm Mr. Blanchette."

"And who is this delightful fellow?" Mrs. Blanchette cooed as Bandit began to sniff and paw at the hem of her gown.

"That is our new household nuisance," explained Draco with unveiled irritation, "Wrinkles, come get this animal out of here. He stinks!"

Suddenly, Scorpius remembered what he and Albus had seen by the pond.

"Dad," he announced abruptly, "We saw a stranger sneaking around on our land!"

"What kind of stranger?"

"Well, we didn't get a very good look at him," he admitted sheepishly.

"Probably another Ministry spy lurking around," Lucius grumbled.

"But he wasn't wearing a robe!"

"He was naked?" Mr. Blanchette asked jokingly, "What sort of neighborhood is this, Lucius?"

"No, Grandad!" Scorpius responded, indignant at not being taken seriously, "He was wearing muggle clothes. Albus saw him too!" Albus nodded emphatically.

"When Bandit started barking at him, he ran off. We chased him on our broomsticks to the edge of the park."

"You didn't fly your broomsticks into the park did you?" Scorpius' mother asked in an urgent tone, "The last thing we need is more trouble with the Ministry!"

"Oh, that Ministry of Magic!" Mr. Blanchette groaned, "I tell you it's like we're all in a prison these days! It's all a lot of bureaucratic hogwash if you ask me! Remember, Lucius, back in the days when a kid could ride around on his own broomstick without worrying about citations from the Ministry?" Lucius Malfoy nodded his agreement.

"The whole world has gone mad."

"Who do you reckon it could have been, anyway?" Scorpius asked, trying to get the elders' minds back on topic.

"Not a muggle, obviously," stated Draco, "There are concealment charms all around the perimeter."

"But what if there's something wrong with the charms?" Draco shrugged. He seemed to have little concern that the concealment charms were failing, but he assured his son that he'd check them after dinner. At that moment, the conversation was interrupted by the uncharacteristically noisy arrival of Wrinkles, who was nimbly attempting to transport a tray twice his size and full of food to the table, while Bandit circled him with piercing barks and nipping teeth in order to claim the Malfoys' dinner for his own.

"Merlin's Beard, son," Draco exclaimed inpatiently, "Would you please do something about that blasted mutt?" Scorpius called Bandit to him, lifted him into his lap, and handed him a roll from the table which caused his father to emit a scandalized choking noise as he slammed his glass down on the table.

"Have you lost your mind?" he cried, "There is absolutely no way I can enjoy a meal with that smelly beast sitting across the table from me!"

"It's not his fault," defended Scorpius, "He's just hungry and he only smells because I accidentally let him get in the pond."

"Wrinkles, take this putrid little pest in the house and give him a good washing." Draco ordered.

"There's a nice doggie," whimpered Wrinkles as he reluctantly took charge of Bandit who playfully chomped on his over-sized left ear.

"Well, feed him first, at least!" Scorpius called somewhat sadly as he watched his dog depart.

"Is that pond still back there, Lucius?" Mr. Blanchette inquired, "Well, of course it is. Where would it have gone?" Mr. Blanchette laughed fondly.

"We certainly had some grand days around that pond, didn't we?"

"Albus wanted to swim it," Scorpius told them and Albus said,

"It looked like a good place to swim to me."

"It's a spectacular place to swim!" the old gentleman agreed, "Especially in the winter."

"In the winter?" chorused the boys in disbelief.

"Do you remember how we used to all come down from Hogwarts at the Christmas holiday?" Mr. Blanchette asked the other adults and Lucius Malfoy snickered.

"Mother hated those parties! Every year she'd make me promise it would only be a small get together…" "Small? You might as well have invited everyone in Slytherin house!"

"And she'd still be putting my classmates out two weeks later!"

"We'd build a bonfire down by that pond and practice all the spells we weren't ever allowed to use at school. Then at night we'd charm the water till it was steaming hot and swim under the stars."

"Well doesn't that sound spectacular?" Scorpius interjected with a tone of accusation, "And I can't even have one friend over for the weekend without causing a major family crisis?"

"Maybe that's because your grandfather remembers full well what sort of shenanigans boys your age can get up to," suggested Mrs. Blanchette knowingly.

"So it's only the boys that get into trouble, is it?" Mr. Blanchette asked her cunningly, "As I recall, it was you girls who came up with the notion of dancing around at midnight under the harvest moon wearing nothing but your…"

"Don't you dare, you wicked man!" Mrs. Blanchette shrieked in outrage, nearly spilling her drink on her husband's lap. To the boys she said, "Don't listen to him. He was hallucinating!"

"And it wasn't the harvest moon, it was the spring solstice," added Narcissa for good measure. Scorpius glanced over at his friend who was trying, rather unsuccessfully, to contain his laughter in his napkin. Mr. Blanchette continued in a more sober tone,

"But the time I remember most was the summer of my fifth year. I was so upset. I knew we'd be leaving Britain soon." Mrs. Blanchette squeezed her husband's hand sympathetically and he continued.

"The Dark Lord was demanding the allegiance of all the old families. Our parents hadn't told us yet. I expect they were afraid we'd let it out at school and somehow it'd get back to the Deatheaters but I'd heard them planning our escape one night. I hated my father for it. Do you remember that night you invited us all over for that dueling party, all of us fine, big-headed Deatheaters-in-training? I was miserable that night! I was so jealous of you, Lucius, because you got to stay and I had to leave."

"You actually wanted to be a Deatheater?" Albus asked in disbelief.

"I was full of youth and anger and, yes, I would've happily become a Deatheater if it meant I got to stay with my friends at Hogwarts. Fortunately, my parents had a lot more sense than I had."

"Wow!" Scorpius exclaimed, "I love my school and all but…"

"You know, I think we have a photograph from that evening," Narcissa told Mr. Blanchette, "Would you like to see it?" Mr. Blanchette nodded earnestly. "Oh, most defiantly!"

"I'll get it, Mother," Draco offered, "Accio album!" And with a flick of his wand, the book appeared on the table before them. Narcissa opened it to the correct page and handed it to Mr. Blanchette who smiled broadly at the photograph of his younger self.

"What do you think of that, my friend?" he asked Lucius jovially, placing a finger on a blond, arrogant-looking teenage boy. Lucius studied the picture with an attitude of disapproval.

"I think it's a photograph of a lot of people who never knew a single gray hair on their head. You needn't have been jealous of those who got to stay. Most of the people in that photo had disappeared within the next year. The Slytherin common room was a pretty lonely place by the time I graduated from Hogwarts."

"What do you mean, disappeared?" Draco asked and Lucius sighed.

"Some were killed for resisting the Dark Lord, a few were killed or captured by the aurors. Many of them simply vanished. We never heard what became of them. I expect some of them left the country and started new lives abroad."

"I heard the Pembrookes went to America," Mrs. Blanchette offered.

"I'd heard that too," Narcissa agreed, "I don't know if it's true or not." Mr. Blanchette handed the album to Mrs. Blanchette, who offered it to Draco. He seemed hesitant to take it, as if he was afraid of what he might see, but curiosity won out and he held the book so both he and his mother could see it.

"You looked so pretty, Mother," Draco told her.

"Of course she did! She was the prettiest girl in the whole school," Lucius informed them with pride.

"Is that Aunt Bella?" Draco asked, "She doesn't look at all like I remember her." His mother pursed her lips and nodded, as if speaking would make her cry.

"By the time you met her, dear, there wasn't much left of her mind," Mrs. Blanchette explained to him gently, "After all, she'd spent all those years behind bars…"

"She was never well," said Narcissa as she wiped the moisture from her eye, "I saw it when we were children."

"I want to see!" insisted Scorpius, craning his neck in order to catch a glimpse of his mentally disturbed great aunt. Draco invited both he and Albus to come over and have a look. Staring at the faces in the photo, Scorpius recognized his grandparents in their youth, but Albus recognized another face. A pale boy with dark hair and a hooked nose sat to one side of the room, looking quite out of place both by his shabby, ill-fitting clothes and empty expression amid the varied, animated faces of the rest of the party.

"Is that Severus Snape?" Albus asked Scorpius' father.

"Why, yes it is. How did you know that?"

"There's a portrait of him hanging in our common room."

"He talks to it constantly," Scorpius informed them, "It's a little weird."

"Severus Snape? Wasn't he that greasy little first-year you invited?" Mr. Blanchette asked Lucius.

"Indeed he was." Mr. Blanchette laughed again.

"I don't think I'll ever forget that halfblood! Gave me the surprise of my life when the dueling started and I had to face him! I couldn't walk straight for days and I still occasionally feel pains in my left leg!"

"He beat you at dueling when he was only in his first year?" Scorpius asked, amazed.

"Beat me? He slaughtered me! Even the small part of it I can remember was a complete bloodbath!"

"Well you had to shoot off your mouth didn't you?" Lucius pointed out and Mr. Blanchette laughed agreeably.

"He certainly put me in my place! But I don't even want to imagine where a first-year half-blood learns the kind of spells he used on me!"

"They were his own, most of them," Lucius informed him, "He was a Binder."

"A Binder? What's that?" Scorpius asked.

"A witch or wizard who can author spells."

"You mean they make them up?" Albus asked excitedly, "That's wicked!"

"Not exactly," Mr. Blanchette clarified, "The spells sort of come to them, often in times of need. It's not something they have a lot of control over."

"It's still very cool!" Scorpius insisted.

"Severus didn't always think so." Lucius told them, "Once, I saw him use a spell he'd bound himself during a fight. It was far more powerful than he'd expected it to be. He nearly killed the fellow! After he'd modified his opponent's memory, he backed me against the wall and assured me that if I ever used it or told a soul about the spell he'd hunt me down and kill me himself."

"Why'd he do that?" the boys asked in unison.

"At the time, I assumed he wanted to keep it for himself. It was a very powerful spell, horrible to witness in fact. I was more than a little afraid of him for a long time after that. But now I wonder if he simply didn't want such a violent spell getting into the wrong hands."

"Like yours?" Draco suggested snidely.

"Like mine. Like the Dark Lord's. It could be a disaster for anyone who would consider using a spell like that to know about it."

Mr. Blanchette continued thoughtfully, "Lucius, I could never understand why you were friends with someone like Snape in the first place. His parents were nobodies. His father was a muggle. He certainly didn't possess any attributes of charisma or personality that I ever saw. Why ever did you get involved with him?"

"Consider this. Would you want him for an enemy?"

"There's a lot of people I wouldn't want for an enemy, but I don't invite them all to my home for dinner." Lucius fell quiet as if he didn't have a response and for a moment, the only sound was the breeze and the crickets.

"He saved my life more than once," Draco commented quietly, interrupting the silence.

"He did?" asked Albus eagerly, "How?" Draco didn't answer him but Lucius had found his voice.

"Severus wasn't a ordinary man. It's true, I never understood him, but he was always seemed to be there for us. And even if he was only a half-blood, he was the most gifted wizard I could ever call my friend."

"My parents named me for Severus Snape," Albus admitted to the table, "My middle name is Severus. Everyone seems to think that's strange."

"It is strange," Draco informed him, "Snape was my potions master for years and my singular favorite entertainment at school was watching him torture your father."

"When did they stop hating each other?" Albus asked.

"To my knowledge, they were still in a state of mutual loathing when Snape died." Albus' face fell and he sighed disappointedly.

"It's as if everyone who knew him, knew a completely different person," he complained.

"Well, I suppose that's one of the many risks your assume when you become a double agent."

"Why do you care so much about him anyway?" Scorpius asked, "He died way before we were even born."

"I don't know. I guess when your named after someone, you want to know what they were like."

"Boy, I can't imagine what would possess your father to name you for Severus Snape," Lucius stated, addressing Albus directly for the first time since he'd arrived, "but I watched Snape on multiple occasions stand before the Dark Lord, perhaps the most powerful legilimens of all time, and spin lies so skillfully that I was inclined to believe his deception before I trusted my own senses. Your father seems convinced that his loyalty was to Albus Dumbledore, but my son watched Snape execute your other namesake just as easily as blowing out a candle."

"I don't believe it!" Albus cried, clearly shocked by the accusation.

"And yet it happened whether you believe it or not. Dumbledore worked alongside Snape for over sixteen years and didn't know him from a hole in the wall. There's no one that can honestly say they truly knew what went on in the darkness behind that man's eyes. I advise you to turn your attentions elsewhere before you drive yourself mad."

"As usual, you're the very essence of tact, Father," Draco acknowledged sarcastically.

"Have I said anything that isn't true?" the old man demanded.

"Scorpius, why don't you take your guest inside and find him someplace to sleep tonight?" Draco suddenly suggested, ignoring his father's question, "After all, he's here to have fun, not to spend the whole night listening to these old men reminisce about the good-old-days." Scorpius took the cue and rose from the table, bidding his grandparents goodnight and gesturing for Albus to follow him.

"I'm sorry for the way my grandfather's been giving you a hard time," Scorpius told Albus as they headed up the servants' stairs to Scorpius' bedroom. Albus' face had gone gloomy during the dinner but it brightened suddenly.

"It's all right, Scor," he assured his friend, "This is nothing compared with what you'd be facing right now if we were visiting the Weasleys!"

Later that night, after the Blanchettes had departed and the senior Malfoys had gone up to bed, Scorpius, Albus, and Bandit were found setting up sleeping bags out on the veranda.

"We have fourteen empty bedrooms in this house," said Scorpius' father disapprovingly, "But we're sleeping in hammocks on the porch."

"Because we can!" Scorpius declared.

"Ah, the eccentric pleasures of the privileged…" responded Draco and he kissed his son on the top of his head.

"What about the stranger we caught creeping around the pond?" Albus asked apprehensively, "D'you reckon the house is safe?"

"I checked all the concealment charms around the property and they are all functioning perfectly. There's no way any muggle could get past them. Furthermore, the house is locked and has plenty of protective charms to keep us safe."

"But who were they, anyway?" Scorpius persisted, "What did they want?"

"I don't know, son, but I promise you we are as safe as we can be. That is, unless you want me to transform Bandit here into a vicious pit bull." Bandit perked up his ears and tilted his head curiously at the sound of his name. Scorpius picked him up and held him defensively.

"All right then. Good-night all." Draco dimmed the lamps and turned to go inside.

"Mr. Malfoy, did you really see Severus Snape kill Albus Dumbledore?" Albus asked quietly. Draco Malfoy sighed uncomfortably and sat down in the chair beside Albus' hammock.

"Don't you think you ought to wait and discuss this with your father, Albus?" he asked him.

"Yes," Albus admitted, "I will. I just wanted to hear your side of it too." Draco hesitated, seeming to collect his thoughts before he spoke. "I saw just exactly what my father told you I saw, but there's much more to the story than that."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that Snape had an Unbreakable Vow on him, for one. He would have died if he hadn't done it."

"But why would he make an Unbreakable Vow to kill Dumbledore? I thought he was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix?" The poor man looked distressed and Albus got the impression that he really didn't know the right thing to say.

"I…I don't…I'm afraid my father was right about what he said at dinner, Albus… A man could go mad trying to sort all that out. It was a confusing, complicated time for those who only had one allegiance and complete insanity for someone in Snape's position… I don't really know if you boys are old enough to hear the whole story yet or if I'm even the right person to tell it to you. I do know, however, that if you're questioning whether Snape was bad or good, than I don't have the simple answer you are looking for. Even if I did tell you everything that happened, you wouldn't be any closer to the truth than you are now, though you would probably start having some pretty impressive nightmares."

"Will you tell us when we're older?" Scopius asked hopefully.

"Perhaps…some of it." Scorpius humph-ed indignantly. Albus still looked troubled.

"Why don't you discuss it with your parents, Albus?" Draco suggested again, "Don't you think they remember why they chose your name?"

"Sometimes I wonder if my dad's very realistic about people," Albus responded uneasily.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"Well…sometimes people think he goes to extremes when giving others the benefit of the doubt." Scorpius smirked at him.

"Al, your dad makes a living at catching people and putting them in prison. He wouldn't stay in business very long if he didn't call people to account for what they did."

"It's not that he doesn't call them to account…He just always tries to see the best in people…What if he saw something good in Snape that just wasn't there?"

"You mean like when your brother told you that being friends with a Malfoy meant a certain and painful death but your dad told you to give me a chance?" Scorpius asked.

"That's different. He was right about you."

"Then he's probably right about Snape too," Scorpius declared indifferently, as if the matter was of very little importance.

"But what if he isn't?" Albus argued.

"Well, what if? The bloke's dead for crying out loud! It's not as if he's going to kidnap you and turn you into a Deatheater."

"I don't want to be named for a murderer!" Albus complained.

"Well, in history of magic class, we learned that Voldemort's real name was Tom Riddle. I haven't noticed the lines of wizards named Tom queuing up to jump in the river! So you've got the same name as a psycho. I can think of twenty more important things to worry about."

"Easy for you to say," Albus retorted, "It isn't your name, is it?"

"Are you kidding me?" Scorpius exclaimed, "Didn't you notice any of the people we ate dinner with tonight? It was like dining in front of the "Most Wanted Criminals" bulletin in the post office! Everyone who hears my name knows immediately that I'm descended from a family of criminals and terrorists! No offence, Dad…Dad?"

Scorpius' father had stopped paying attention to their quarrel and was staring through the broad, open windows into the dark meadow where a peculiar beam of light was dancing in and out of the tall grass.

"There's someone out there!" Scorpius whispered.

"Stay right here!" Draco ordered fiercely and Scorpius watched as he marched quickly through the screen door, down the steps and into the night, brandishing his wand. By the time Scorpius had turned around, Albus had already put his shoes back on.


	7. The Intruder Returns

Scorpius and Albus ran from the house, leaving Bandit crying at the door. They made their way through the wild grasses toward the direction they'd seen the strange light. Ahead of them, they could hear Scorpius' father shouting for someone to stop and the rustling as he and the intruder struggled with the thick grass and the uneven ground. Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a sharp cry of pain.

"Dad!" Scorpius cried, "Where are you?" Another flash of light illuminated the field, this time more to their right, and the boys changed course, barreling through the field toward the sound of the confrontation. They emerged into a clearing just in time to see a third flash burst from Draco's wand and lift the apprehended trespasser into the air suspending him there helplessly.

"I told you two to stay put!" Draco chastised them furiously and Scorpius felt a pang of guilt. 

"I'm sorry, sir," explained Albus with plausible remorse, "It was my fault. When my dad tells us to stay back from the danger, I don't think he actually expects it to happen." 

"That's a ridiculous excuse," Draco informed him, "Did either of you happen to see where his wand went?" They both shook their heads and began searching for it with a lumos charm. Suddenly, the suspended culprit came to life and began screeching the most offensive litany of profanity and vulgar phrases that any of them had ever heard. Draco shot a silencing hex at him and the offender was reduced to flailing his arms irately. 

"Hey, he's just a kid!" Albus cried in surprise.

"What a foul child!" accused Draco and with another flash of light, brought the repulsive object to the ground in an ungraceful heap. 

"That's the kid from the park!" Scorpius realized raising his wand menacingly, "He's the one who saw me levitate that girl!"

"I seen you do more than that," the boy snarled, "Much more."

"I bet you did, creeping around the place, spying on us on our own property!" accused Scorpius bitterly. Draco stepped toward the boy hostilely, illuminating his defiant face with his wand. The boy's hair and clothes were filthy, as if he hadn't bathed in weeks. He seemed to be about the same age as Scorpius and Albus. 

"Who are you?" Draco demanded. The boy glared at him insolently and said nothing. 

"I want your parents' names, boy!" Draco ordered, menacing the boy with his wand. The boy continued to glare contemptuously at the wizard before him, though a waver of fear could be recognized in his eyes. 

"Hex him into next week, Dad!" Scorpius encouraged without much empathy for his father's unlucky captive. Draco lifted his wand and the boy's eyes widened in fear. Albus drew his breath in sharply and for a moment he was afraid the stranger was done for. In an instant, the boy shot into the air, seeming to be suspended by his ankles. He began to jerk up and down violently and multiple objects descended from his pockets as he shrieked in rage and fear. 

"What is all that stuff?" Scorpius asked, stepping forward to examine the accumulating pile of plastic and wiring.

"It's muggle stuff," Albus answered knowledgably pointing to a handheld video game, "My cousin, Buddy, has one of these games. And those are muggle money and mobile phones and music players."

"What are those things that look like watches?" Scorpius asked. 

"I expect they're watches," Albus answered kneeling down to further examine the boy's loot. 

"He's a thief whoever he is!" commented Draco disapprovingly. 

"Don't you touch my stuff!" the boy shouted, pointing at Albus, "That's mine!" 

"I highly doubt that," Draco sniffed. The boy shrieked in rage again and a sudden burst of blue flame, like an electric field shot from him and toward Albus. 

"Stand back!" Draco commanded as Albus fell backward in surprise. Scorpius came to his friend's side and helped him to his feet. Draco held the boy in a petrifying hex.

"What do we do now, Dad?" Scorpius asked excitedly.

"You remember when you asked me why we have a dungeon? You're about to find out, my boy."

"What do you mean to do to him?" Albus asked nervously.

"I reckon we ought to call the Aurors. What are they there for if not this sort of situation?" Albus was relieved to hear that the boy's fate didn't include being tortured to death in the Malfoy's cellar. 

"You aren't going to teach him a lesson, then?" Scorpius asked disappointedly as they made their way toward the house, the strange boy floating unconsciously before them as they went. 

"No. But you, on the other hand, I ought to hex until hell won't have it again!" Draco informed him and Scorpius looked ashamed at having disobeyed his father and endangered himself. "You too," he added, addressing Albus, "That could have been any lunatic out there!" 

"Sorry, sir," Albus apologized genuinely and they made their way up the steps and into the veranda, where the strange, floating boy received a comical reaction from Bandit, who alternated between charging the stranger threateningly and fleeing in alarm. 

"Stay here," Draco commanded as he left them on the porch with their hammocks, "and go to sleep." He only got half of his way. The boys did stay on the veranda and lay in their hammocks, but they stayed up most the night, discussing the intruder and hypothesizing about what he may have been up to, prowling around on the Malfoy's land. 

The next morning, Draco came wearily into breakfast to find his father and his son engaged in a verbal standoff while Albus watched curiously. 

"You'd better not do it again!" Scorpius threatened his grandfather who glared at him lividly.

"Don't tell me how to treat my servants!" he thundered. Scorpius sniffed at him defiantly.

"May I remind you, Grandfather, that Wrinkles is not your elf! He belongs to my mother and to me! Isn't that right, Wrinkles?" Wrinkles bowed meekly, as though he didn't want to be caught up in the argument.

"Of course, Master Scorpius," he moaned. 

"And I won't stand to see someone throwing things at him, kicking him, and hitting him with a stick!" 

"Do you hear the way your little tyrant talks to his grandfather?" Lucius demanded of his son.

"There's no reason to hurt the elf, Father," Draco told him in an exhausted voice, "He'll do anything in the world you ask him. If you're going to kick something, kick the dog." 

"Wrinkles, come here!" Scorpius demanded, ignoring his father's verbal assault on his furry friend. The elf obeyed, looking as though he'd rather be on another planet.

"From now on, any time grandfather is mean to you, I command you to spit in his food!" directed Scorpius. Albus nearly choked on a mouthful of porridge trying to contain his laughter. 

"He wouldn't dare!" thundered the senior Malfoy, quite red in the face at his grandson's impertinence. A small smile appeared on the elf's face and he bowed again to Scorpius.

"Certainly, Master Scorpius!" he replied and with a sideways glance at Lucius Malfoy he added in a low whisper, "Wrinkles already does that, sir!" This caused Albus to erupt into a spell of laughter that nearly stopped his breathing. 

"Well, that's settled then," Draco determined in a relieved tone, despite the horrified expression on his father's face. He seated himself at the table and Wrinkles poured his coffee. 

"What happened to that kid, Dad?" Scorpius asked. 

"The aurors are down in the dungeon questioning him right now. He's a stubborn little thing. He won't tell them who he is or where he belongs."

"What are you talking about? What's going on?" Lucius demanded.

"We caught an intruder in the meadow last night!" Scorpius exclaimed as if the entire event was delightful. 

"What's this, Draco?" 

"It's nothing, Father. Someone's discarded brat was sneaking around the house last night and I called the aurors."

"What brat? What was he doing?"

"Well, judging from the contents of his pockets, I'd say he was trying to figure out a way to rob the place." Lucius snorted at the impertinence of modern youth. 

"I hope you gave him a good hexing!" he told his son. 

"It's all taken care of, Father," Draco assured him in a tone which suggested he really didn't want to think about it anymore, "The aurors will sort him out." Lucius snorted again indignantly. 

"By the way," Draco continued with an edge of sudden urgency, "They're sending a wand recovery team out through the grounds to search for the young man's wand, so if anyone in the family has placed something out there in a surreptitious manner, you might want to excuse yourself and go and…well, you know." 

"What's surreptitious?" Albus asked. 

"He means, if anyone's hidden something suspicious out there…like an illegal artifact…or a corpse," Scorpius explained matter-of-factly. 

"Oh…right," Albus replied, still unsure of the definition of surreptitious. 

The wand recovery team turned out to be Albus' father and his unimpressive-looking intern Bruce Bailey. Wrinkles showed them in just as the family and Albus was finishing up their breakfast. The boys greeted Mr. Potter enthusiastically while Scorpius' grandparents looked as though their morning could not have gotten any worse. 

"I've come to collect your unwanted guest," Harry explained to Draco. 

"Good, take the thief that's down in the dungeons as well," Lucius muttered under his breath. Everyone ignored the comment.

"Did they figure out who he belongs to?" asked Scorpius' mother with more concern than anger. 

"Not yet, but we have a hunch. This is our office intern, Bailey," Harry introduced, "He's training to be a magical objects recovery agent, so he's going to be performing the wand recovery on your property today. If we find a wand, we'll know pretty quickly who he is." Bailey glared at the Malfoy's with loathing and anxiety. 

"I'm afraid we've met before," explained Draco as he eyed the pimple-covered intern with derision, "Will he be using any spells that might kill everything in the garden, poison the water, or blow up the house?" Harry chuckled and assured Draco that the charms Bailey needed were not likely to cause damage to the Malfoy's property no matter how incompetently they were executed. He then dispatched the fellow off to the garden to get to work.

"Keep an eye on that hack, will you?" Draco muttered to Wrinkles, who bowed and disappeared with a pop. 

"Don't worry, Draco. He can't do any harm," Harry assured him again, "Besides, I doubt he'll find any thing out there. From what I'm told, there's every indication that the boy is a muggle."

"That's impossible!" insisted Lucius Malfoy contemptuously, "Only a wizard can get past the concealment charms!" 

"I've already thought of that, Mr. Malfoy," Harry assured him with an amazing tone of courtesy, "In fact, I just checked the perimeter myself, just to make certain the spells were working properly. There's little doubt that your young burglar is a wizard. He's already injured one of the aurors that's down there now with quite a powerful wandless spell." 

"He's a mudblood, then. No surprise," Lucius Malfoy growled, causing the other Malfoys to flush in embarrassment and Harry to stretch the furthest bounds of his patience and charity. 

"Mr. Malfoy," he said sternly, "I don't appreciate your using that filthy, hateful word in front of my son." The old man's expression flared into anger and for a moment, Scorpius dreaded that he would begin shouting all manner of humiliating things at Mr. Potter, but just as suddenly, his demeanor was calmed and he even managed a forced smile. 

"I apologize for my language, Mr. Potter," he said stiffly. Harry nodded his acceptance and continued addressing Draco.

"We're going to take him into the Ministry. They'll sort out where he belongs and then decide on what to do with him. If he is a muggle-born wizard, he probably isn't old enough to attend school yet, or else the boys would know him."

"I never saw him before," Scorpius offered.

"Yeah, me neither and I'm pretty sure I'd remember him!" Albus agreed. 

"I honestly don't care much who he is," admitted Draco, "As long as I don't find him creeping around my garden again." 

"Well, I don't think you'll have that problem again. If you'll show me down, we'll take the little scalawag away right now." Draco Malfoy rose and so did Albus who hurried to give his father a hug. 

"Are you enjoying yourself, son?" he asked warmly and Albus nodded eagerly. 

"Scorpius' family sure is interesting!" 

"I'm glad to hear it. See that you are home by four-thirty tomorrow. Your mother's making dinner for the whole family, you know." 

"Can Scorpius come too?" Albus asked brightly and Harry laughed. 

"Now why would you want to subject your poor friend to the torture of your brother and all your cousins?" he demanded jokingly. Albus grinned.

"Revenge!" he declared maniacally. 

"I want to go!" Scorpius begged his father, "I can handle those Weasleys!" 

"Why, in heaven's name?" Draco asked incredulously. 

"Oh, stop it, you pest!" Beatrice Malfoy snapped at her husband, "Of course you can go, Scorpius dear, if you're invited." The matter being settled, Harry collected the young stranger from the dungeon, and his intern from the meadow where he had not managed to turn up anything, and departed for the Ministry.

The boys practiced flying and Quidditch moves for the whole day, stopping only for meals. After dinner, Draco joined them and under his cloaking charm, they flew the short distance from the house to the nearby seaside cliffs. It was well after sunset when they finally came in for the evening and though the boys were reluctant to go up to bed, they were exhausted from the busy day and all the excitement of the previous night. 

"Al, do you really want me to come to your house?" Scorpius asked him as he settled into the comfortable bed Wrinkles has arranged for him. 

"Of course!" Albus insisted, "Don't you want to come?"

"Yeah, but I was wondering if it would…you know… cause a lot of controversy." 

"Don't worry about that," Albus reassured, "Besides, by the time we get there tomorrow, my dad should know more about that strange kid. Aren't you curious about who he was?" 

"Defiantly," Scorpius agreed. 

"And while we're finding out about him, we can find out more about Snape." Scorpius groaned into his pillow. 

"I don't think this obsession is very healthy, mate!"

"Oh, pipe down, you!" 

"Besides, why ask your dad when you can just ask Snape yourself?" 

"You mean ask his portrait? Well, you don't expect if he is a murderer he'd come right out and admit it, do you?" Scorpius shrugged. 

"Why not? What are they going to do? Hang his portrait in Azkaban?" 

"Some people have this thing called shame," Albus suggested in a sardonic tone. 

"Never heard of it," Scorpius responded and they both laughed and said goodnight. 


	8. Quidditch

It was late afternoon when Albus and Scorpius landed in the Potter's living room, via the Floo Network . The room was bright, comfortable, a little cluttered, and very noisy. The sounds of Albus' extended relations laughing and shouting seemed to permeate through the house and the sounds of multiple footsteps stomped across the ceiling over their heads.

"I'm home!" Albus called cheerfully and the tall, red-haired man Scorpius has seen in Diagon Alley appeared in the doorway with a small, red-haired boy slung backward over his shoulder.

"Al! You're made it home alive! What in the world is he doing here?" Albus' Uncle Ron demanded, untactfully gesturing toward Scorpius.

"I went to visit Scorpius' house, now he's here visiting mine," responded Albus.

"Who says he is?"

"My dad." The man's eyes narrowed at Scorpius, as if he was having trouble getting him into focus. "Well, at least tonight ought to be entertaining," he stated and he headed through the doorway on the opposite side of the room. The boy hanging over his shoulder was busily engrossed in a book with a colorful photograph of a hippogriff on the jacket.

"Good evening, Albus," he greeted without looking away from the pages.

"Hi, Hugo. That's Rose's brother, Hugo," Albus explained to Scorpius.

"Nice to meet you!" Scorpius called after them, with a touch of sarcasm.

"Come on," Albus beckoned, leading his friend through the crowded house to the kitchen, where three grown witches and two smaller ones were gathered around an enormous wood-burning stove, conversing and laughing.

"Al!" exclaimed Albus' sister, Lily. She ran up to him and greeted him with a flour-dusted hug.

"Hi, Lily. Hi, Mum," he responded. Then he introduced the other two witches, "Scor, this is my Gran and Aunt Hermoine, and this is my friend, Scorpius." Rose Weasley crossed her arms across her apron. "Scorpius Malfoy," she clarified unnecessarily. Scorpius smiled brightly and extended his hand in greeting to each of the woman, all of whom shook it with a hint of reservation.

"Thanks for letting me come over, Mrs. Potter," he thanked her when he came to Albus' mother.

"Well, dear, I wasn't officially consulted," she informed him, glancing sideways at her son, "But you're welcome, none-the-less."

"Thank you," he repeated, feeling more than a little awkward, "Your home is very nice." Mrs. Potter glanced incredulously at her sister-in-law as if unable to discern whether her young visitor was being genuine.

"That's…That's very kind of you, Scorpius," she complimented hesitantly.

"Is dad upstairs?" Albus asked her earnestly.

"No, he's in the garden. Apparently, there was some sort of crisis that needed his attention."

"Maybe it's a rosebush. We have a one in our garden that's gone absolutely mental," Scorpius offered, "The other day it ate our post owl!"

"I find it extremely unlikely that the crisis in the garden was caused by a deranged rosebush," Rose informed them pretentiously. Scorpius shrugged.

"Well, you never know."

"Come on, Scorpius," ushered Albus, "Let's go outside."

"Tell dad that dinner is almost ready, will you?" Albus nodded and they made their way toward the back of the house.

"We're supposed to believe that child was sired by Draco Malfoy?" Hermoine whispered incredulously to Albus' mother and grandmother once the boys had left.

"Obviously. There's a considerable resemblance, after all," Mrs. Weasley pointed out as she levitated some hot biscuits from the oven to a basket on the counter.

"I don't see any," she responded with a slight touch of bitterness, "There is no way that a boy that decent was brought up by the Malfoys. He's probably a beastly little terror as soon as the adults' backs are turned. "

"Oh, please `Moine," Ginny laughed, "You're as bad as Ron. Even if Draco Malfoy was a git growing up, his wife, Beatrice, is very sweet. She and I are on the school board together. I'm sure she expects her boy to be a decent person." Hermoine seemed unconvinced.

"Rose, does Malfoy behave this way at school?" Hermoine asked her daughter suspiciously.

"What way, Mummy?"

"Well-mannered and civil," Hermoine clarified. Rose snorted and rolled her eyes.

"No," she informed them matter-of-factly, "He behaves like a boy!" The ladies all laughed.

"Well, there you have it, dear," Mrs. Weasley chuckled as she charmed the flatware into place settings and sent them hovering toward the dining table.

"It's still pretty hard to believe," Hermoine declared.

"If he wasn't a nice boy, why would Al have him for a friend?" Ginny pointed out, "It certainly isn't in his nature to take up with cruel people." Hermoine seemed to concede to the logic of her argument.

"I suppose you have a point."

"Daddy says to be polite to Scorpius," Lily told her aunt, "He locked all of James' horrible tricks in the linen cupboard. And he told Randy and Quinn if they try to kill Scorpius then they won't get any of Gran's homemade ice cream."

"That's nothing compared to what their Aunt Ginny will do to them if they disrespect a guest in my home," Ginny assured her daughter and Lily's face became quite severe.

"Someone had better say warn them," remarked Rose slyly, "Randy's got his pockets full of stuff from Uncle George's shop!"

Outside, in the garden, Albus found his father standing in between James and Quentin who both looked like they were ready to kill each other.

"I can't keep coming out here every few minutes," Harry Potter scolded his son and nephew, "If you can't play together without fighting then by all means, play something else!"

"Well, if he'd start following the rules.." James argued.

"Maybe if you'd quit changing them after every play…" Quentin retorted.

"What's going on?" whispered Scorpius.

"This is your basic Quidditch related disagreement," Albus explained, "James and Quinn are always fighting over house rules."

"Look, James!" Albus' older cousin, Randy, announced snidely, "Your big brother is here!" James glared from Randy to Albus and snarled, "Shut up, you!" Albus rolled his eyes. "You aren't still on about that, are you? It's not as if I can help it!"

"What's wrong?" Scorpius asked confusedly. Albus folded his arms indignantly and rolled his eyes again.

"Apparently, my brother has disowned me because I am growing too quickly. For this reason, he hasn't spoken to me since we came home on the train, which would be delightful if it wasn't so completely idiotic."

"I don't get it. Why is he mad at you for being tall?"

"Not just tall," Quentin corrected with glee, "Taller than him." James lunged aggressively toward his cousin as if he was going to try and pummel him. Quentin quickly retreated two steps, laughing hysterically at James' humiliation.

"It's bad enough having to have a little brother in the first place," he argued, "I have no use for one that's bigger than I am."

"Son, you don't reckon that you are being the least bit unreasonable?" Harry asked him with a bemused smirk.

"I do not," declared James stubbornly as he pointed at Albus accusingly, "He is a violation of nature and what's more he's brought a Malfoy into the house." His father shot him a disapproving frown and James seemed to know he'd crossed a line.

"Can we just play already?" protested another one of Albus' cousins, a skinny seventh-year with layers of freckles called Alexander.

"Yeah, now that Al's here we have an even number," agreed Gina, a fifth-year girl with her red hair in a thick, messy braid down her back.

"We have a guest as well," Harry pointed out to them.

"Do you want to play?" Albus asked Scorpius uncertainly.

"Of course he does!" James, Quentin, and Randy quickly chimed in unison, causing everyone to glance at them in alarm.

"You boys remember what I told you!" Harry warned, "If I have to come out here again to sort out any more problems there won't be any more Quidditch practice tonight." Everyone nodded in agreement and Harry went inside.

"I haven't got my broom," Scorpius told Albus, "What'll I ride?"

"We've got extra brooms there!" Randy exclaimed far too eagerly, pointing to two broomsticks laying in the grass. Scorpius raised his eyebrows suspiciously.

"I am not touching those," he whispered to Albus.

"No problem," Albus reasoned, "Scorpius and I will switch off on my broom. We've got an extra man anyway." The three tricksters deflated somewhat.

"No, you haven't," announced Rose as she and Lily emerged from the house. "Uncle Harry gave us each a sickle to keep an eye on you." James emitted an indignant snort.

"I want to play too!" Lily announced excitedly, "I've been practicing all year!"

"You're still just learning to fly," James argued, "Besides, now we have even sides." Lily sulked disappointedly. "That's not fair!" she complained.

"Don't worry, Lily," Albus assured her, "Rosie and I will practice some moves with you later." Lily seemed decidedly uncomforted as she stomped off toward the house, pigtails swaying behind her. Albus, Rose, and Scorpius went to collect Albus' and Rose's broomsticks.

"You don't actually expect me to ride one of those ill-fated broomsticks do you?" Scorpius demanded, "It'll probably kill me!"

"No. You can ride my broom and I'll ride the spare," Albus explained, "If it's anything too dangerous, my cousins won't let me ride it."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Rose asked him. Albus shrugged his shoulders.

"No," he admitted. Moments later they returned to the pitch and announced Albus' plan to the others. Randy and Quentin looked disappointed while James looked as though he'd just been offered a double helping of butterscotch on his sundae,

"Suit yourself, little brother," he crooned. Alexander demanded that the game begin and Albus mounted the spare broom hesitantly. He was surprised to find that the broom rose willingly and easily into position. Albus and Scorpius were on the same team with Alexander and Gina. Alexander claimed the keeper position and Gina chose to be the chaser. Albus offered Scorpius the seeker position as he was the guest and he took up the beater position for himself.

With a swish of his wand, Randy opened the chest that contained the balls. The snitch shot off toward the vegetable patch and before Albus could even get a good grip on his bat, the bludgers went hurtling toward him as if projected from a cannon. He managed to get the bat in front of him in time to bunt both bludgers and avoid a considerably intense impact, but he didn't have any force behind the swing and both bludgers immediately struck at him again, nearly knocking him off his broomstick. He quickly regained his seat and his broomstick shot forward, free of the attack. The bludgers advanced on him again. He ducked in time to miss the first blow and managed to smack the second a good distance away. Instead of going after another player, however, the bludger returned to Albus as if drown by a super magnet. After a few more futile attempts at smacking the bludgers away from him, Albus dropped the paddle in frustration and lit off across the garden amid the hysterical laughter of James, Quentin, and Randy and the protests of the rest of Albus' team. Albus dashed frantically around the pitch, trying to escape, but despite all his speed and maneuvering, the sabotaged bludgers stayed relentlessly on his tail.

"James! That's not funny!" Rose shrieked in outrage.

"Call them off you git!" Scorpius exclaimed angrily. The three culprits laughed so hard they were having difficulty staying on their brooms. Meanwhile, Albus zipped, lunged, and dove around the garden, trying to loose the hexed bludgers which struck at him and his broom repeatedly.

"Do something!" Albus cried and Rose and Scorpius both used their wands to try and subdue the murderous projectiles that were battering their friend. After multiple failed attempts, Rose cried in frustration, "Al, just get off the thing!" Albus, feeling slightly silly at not having thought of such and obvious solution himself, dove for the ground and after a hurried and somewhat awkward touchdown, managed to clear the broomstick before the bludgers went tearing at it and proceeded to beat it into the ground.

"Your brother seems to mean business!" Scorpius called to him from high above his head.

"Yeah, I guess I can't grow any taller if I'm dead!" Albus shouted back and Scorpius laughed. Rose, on the other hand, was clearly outraged by the boys' prank and was deriding the trio for their irresponsibility when all of a sudden, the bludgers which had been at work beating the unmanned broomstick into toothpicks stopped in mid-air and began to quiver rapidly. Then, just as suddenly, they darted away toward the edge of the pitch. Albus looked up at Scorpius with a confused expression.

"What was that about?" he asked. He was answered by the sound of a girl's cry and in an instant, Albus realized what had happened. While they'd been distracted by the bludgers' assault on him, Lily had taken the second spare broomstick and begun practicing by herself. As Albus had dismounted his own broomstick the bludgers had now turned their attention to her and were whizzing around her, crashing into her and threatening to knock her clear out of the air.

"Lily!" Albus cried, and he raced toward her, pulling out his wand as he went. Scorpius had also realized the danger and shot toward her on Albus' broomstick, followed quickly by James and all the others. Scorpius had the head start and was only a few feet away when one of the bludgers struck Lily square in the back and sent her hurtling over the nose of her broomstick. Scorpius dove just in time and managed to scoop her up in a one-armed embrace. The sudden added weight caused the borrowed broomstick to spin violently to the left and it was all Scorpius could do to keep from crashing to the ground. Somehow he managed to stabilize the broom and hoist Lily onto the handle for a safe, though rather ungraceful landing.

Meanwhile, in the comfort of the Potter's dinning room, the elders of the Weasley clan were happily conversing and preparing the table for dinner when the pleasant calmness was shattered by the arrival of a mob of shouting, bickering teenagers. Amidst the chaos, gently carried in by Alexander and attended on either side by Gina and Rose, Lily was bravely fighting back tears of pain. The noisy entourage descended upon Harry with each individual shouting, gesturing, and demanding to be heard first.

"Merlin's Beard, what happened?" asked Ginny in frustration. Rose pointed at her cousins with unreserved fury.

"Their demented prank almost got Lily killed is what happened!" she charged. The three accused boys all began to shout at once and Ginny had to bellow for them to get quiet at once. The whole lot fell immediately silent and Ginny sternly demanded an explanation from her sons.

"James put a hex on the Quidditch bludgers so they'd mutilate anyone who rode the spare brooms. Then they attacked Lily and knocked her off her broomstick," Albus informed her.

"James!" she exclaimed, her face filling with rage, "Your sister is three years younger than yourself and she's been flying for less than a year!"

"It wasn't just me!" James defended himself in a hurt tone, "And we weren't expecting Lily to ride them anyway!"

"Yeah, they were actually trying to murder us instead!" Albus retorted bitterly.

"What did I tell you about playing pranks tonight?" she demanded and without waiting for an answer she ordered him upstairs to his room. He went, red-faced, and resentful at the injustice of not getting the chance to tell his side of the story.

"Harry, would you please go and speak to your son?" she requested her husband, "So, I can tend to Lily?" Harry nodded solemnly and rose to follow James to the staircase. Albus was a little disappointed. His father was bound to go easier on his brother than his mother would have and he reckoned that James deserved the full treatment. Ginny gently took her daughter from Alexander and carried her into the living room, flanked by Rose, Gina, and a beautiful teenage girl with waist-length blonde hair, all of whom had not ceased fussing over their afflicted little cousin since she was lugged in. A tall woman with brown curly hair advanced on Alexander.

"Did you have anything to do with this?" she demanded.

"No, Mum," Randy answered for him honestly, "It was James, Quinn, and me that hexed the bludgers. Alex didn't even know." A sharp gasp sounded in the corner of the room and a luminously beautiful witch with silken, white-blonde hair rose quickly and caught Quentin fiercely by the ear. She drug him squirming into the other room, rebuking him in harsh-sounding French the entire way. Scorpius struggled to stifle a smile. Randy, the final culprit, was left to face his own retribution alone.

"It was just a prank…" he whined without much optimism. He knew he was done for. Lily was a girl, five years younger, and the favorite of the family, especially to their grandmother. Any injury done to her would not be taken lightly.

"March!" ordered his mother crossly and Randy disappeared through the doorway.

"That's rotten luck," Alexander commented, taking a vacant seat at the table and pouring himself a glass of pumpkin juice, "After all, it was a pretty funny prank until Lily got involved." His father, Albus' Uncle Percy, gave him a good cuff on the back of the head causing him to sputter and cough into his drink. Rose's little brother glanced up from his book curiously, as if he'd only just noticed there were other people in the room.

"Are we going to have dinner soon?" he asked impatiently.


	9. Dinner at the Potter's

After all the ruckus caused by the bludger incident, Mrs. Weasley requisitioned Scorpius and Albus to help out by setting the table, as Mrs. Potter and the girls were all still upstairs fussing over Lily's injuries. Scorpius wasn't accustomed to being asked to do chores. For the most part, Wrinkles had his clothing clean and pressed before he opened his eyes each day, a plate full of food in front of him before he even noticed he was hungry, and his bed turned down just in time for him to fall into it. He didn't mind, however. She seemed like such a pleasant woman, despite the incessant demands of her unruly band of progeny. He was glad to help her out.

Mrs. Weasley had asked them to "put in the leaves" on the dinning room table and bring in the extra chairs. Albus led Scorpius into the dinning room where those who were not involved in healing bludger contusions or giving and receiving punishments were claiming seats for themselves. The Potter's dinning table was quite large and filled the whole dinning room, barely leaving enough space between the edges and the china cabinet for one to slide past once the chairs were occupied. The table seated eight quite comfortably and could cram in as many as twelve if the need arose. However, the Weasley clan had far exceeded that number for quite some time and therefore the dinning space required expansion during family get-togethers. Albus inched behind his uncle's chairs and climbed over the piano bench that had been brought in for some extra seating. In the back corner of the room, on the wall, was a round sort of switch that resembled the kind muggles use to dim and brighten the lights. When Albus turned it, however, the dinning room table slowly began to stretch. Then, from the table runner to the stripes on the wall paper, the dinning room and all its contents began to stretch to more than double it's original length. Albus' grandfather, Arthur Weasley, began shuffling chairs and their occupants about and he and the boys made space around the table for more seating, including four chairs from the patio, six from the breakfast table in the kitchen, four from the card table in the drawing room, a pink floral chair from the living room, a stool from the vanity in the Potter's bedroom, a cedar chest, and even the bench from the upstairs hallway that the Potter's generally reserved for family members who were being uncooperative. Mr. Weasley counted each place setting carefully.

"That's eight, twelve, sixteen, twenty-five, twenty-nine, thirty-one…I think we're all right for another year!" he concluded triumphantly and everyone was happy to hear it. Albus and Scorpius tripped nimbly back and forth from the kitchen to deliver baskets of bread, plates of butter, assortments of condiments, and various other necessities.

"This is insane! Do you do this all the time?" Scorpius asked his friend after about their tenth trip to the table. Albus shrugged and said, "Pretty often. We're a close family."

"How do you even remember everyone's name?" he asked incredulously and Albus laughed.

"Don't you have special meals with your family, Scorpius?" Mr. Weasley asked, overhearing their conversation.

"My mother's family mostly lives abroad," he explained, "I only have three cousins and the youngest one is eight years older than me. So, we don't really spend a lot of time together. My father's side of the family, well, I guess you could say we have Malfoy family reunions three times a day. Our whole family could eat a meal around a coffee table if we needed to!"

"So, you don't have any cousins in Britain?" Albus asked him as he relocated bottles of salad dressing from his tray to the table.

"I wish I did, but no." Their conversation was noticed by Uncle Ron who addressed Scorpius.

"Well, you do have one…eugh!" he cried out in pain and glared accusingly at his wife who sat beside him with a menacing expression on her face.

"Hasn't there been enough conflict for one meal?" she hissed under her breath but the damage was done.

"One what?" Albus demanded. Uncle Ron looked torn between his wife and nephew.

"Never you mind," his aunt insisted in a gentler tone, "Your uncle needs to learn to mind his own business."

"The kid said himself he wanted relatives, didn't he?" Uncle Ron justified, "Doesn't he have a right to know about his own family?"

"To know what?" Scorpius asked hesitantly. He wasn't at all prepared to believe much of what this fellow had to say, but that didn't mean he wasn't curious.

"You go home and discuss it with your parents," responded Albus' aunt practically. Albus exclaimed, "Discuss what? You haven't told us anything!"

"Obviously, she's refering to Dad's allusion that your friend has undisclosed relations," explained Hugo superiorly without glancing up from his book.

"Quiet, Hugo," she demanded sternly and proceeded to change the subject to the upcoming professional Quidditch match.

"Come on," Albus urged Scorpius, pulling on the sleeve of his shirt, "Let's get the rest of the stuff for the table." Then once they were out of earshot he whispered, "Don't worry. We'll ask my dad when we get the chance. He'll tell us whether Uncle Ron's telling the truth or not."

"That's all right, mate," Scorpius assured him, "If they're bad enough that even my scandalous family doesn't have anything to do with them, I probably don't even want to know!"

Moments later, the thoroughly chastised James, Quentin, and Randy returned sullenly to the dinning room where they offered Albus and Scoprius their reluctant apologies. They were followed by Albus' aunts who sat down at the table and eagerly joined in the conversation. Then Albus' mother passed through on the way to the kitchen to finish getting dinner on the table.

"Is she alright, Ginny?" asked Aunt Hermoine and Albus' mother nodded.

"She's fine. It was just bad bruising. They'll be down in time for dinner in a few minutes."

"Here we are!" Harry announced from the doorway. He was accompanied by Rose, Gina, Quentin's sister Victoire, and Lily, who smiled sheepishly at the overwhelming greeting the family gave. The older girls sat down beside their mothers and Harry lifted Rose and Lily over the piano bench to give them access to the corner where Albus and Scorpius were already seated next to Albus' grandfather. Scorpius was caught off guard when Lily suddenly embraced him in a quick hug around his neck.

"Thanks for catching me!" she thanked him in a low voice without making eye contact.

"Oh…er…It was nothing," he stuttered, his ears going slightly pink.

"Hey, what's going on around here?" called a loud voice from the other room and Teddy Lupin arrived in the dinning room along with two more twin Weasley cousins.

"Well, you finally got here!" exclaimed Harry.

"Just in time to eat. Imagine that!" laughed Mr. Weasley. Teddy and the twins smiled at the joke.

"The shop was busy today," Teddy explained, "It took forever to get rid of…I mean 'assist'…all the customers."

"Teddy and the twins have got summer jobs in Uncle George's joke shop," Albus explained to Scorpius, "I'll bet it's wicked fun!"

"Well, it has its moments," Teddy admitted, "But the money's no good and my boss is a bloody slave driver!" Everyone had a laugh and Uncle George casually reminded Teddy that all three of them could easily be replaced if the work was too much for them.

"Oh, go on, Dad!" exclaimed a twin, "You know you'd be lost without us!"

"All right, then," Uncle George addressed the young Weasleys, "Who would like to work in Uncle George's store?" All the children's hands shot into the air, as well as that of their grandfather.

"Would we be eligible for an associate's discount?" Hugo inquired practically. Uncle George scowled at him.

"What are you? Their union representative? No. There will be no associate's discount." Hugo seemed to mull it over.

"Well, I suppose I'm still in either way," he admitted and everyone laughed again and continued conversing noisily until Ginny, Harry, and Mrs. Weasley all returned, levitating multiple delectable-looking plates and bowls to the table.

At last everyone was gathered together and the meal began. Everyone was talking, joking, and bickering over everyone else and through the hubbub, Mr. Weasley included Scorpius in the conversation by asking him questions about himself. Scorpius felt a little shy. He knew that his family and the Weasleys historically did not get on, and he didn't think his grandfather would like him sharing all their business with the Weasley patriarch, but he wanted to be polite so he tried to answer as honestly as he could without divulging too many details about his family life. Albus, however, was relentless. He sat between Scorpius and Mr. Weasley, recounting everything he'd seen and heard at Malfoy Manor, from the mysterious intruder at the lake to the intriguing dinner conversation they'd had with all of Scorpius' grandparents. Meanwhile, Lily stared holes in Scorpius from the other side, and said nothing, which was quite out of character for her. His ears began to burn again when Albus got to the part about the photograph of his parents and their friends when they were young. He glanced up at Albus' grandfather nervously, and was somewhat relieved to find that Arthur Weasley's expression was one of pure inquisitiveness and not disapproval.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by a loud pop as Teddy Lupin disappeared from one end of the table and into the corner where Albus and Scorpius were sitting. He cleared his throat loudly as though he was about to make an announcement and the din in the room was diminished slightly as those nearby paid attention.

"Scorpius Malfoy," he addressed in a serious tone, "It is my understanding that earlier this afternoon, you caught Lily when she fell off her broomstick, thereby saving her from serious harm. Do you deny it?" The Weasleys fell quiet and Scorpius' face grew quite red.

"Um…well I was the closest when she fell…" he began to explain but Teddy interrupted him.

"Therefore, in honor of an act of great heroism and quick-thinkingness…"

"That's not a word," Hugo interjected.

"Quiet you!" he shot back, "And in honor of actions most unbecoming of a Slytherin, we have decided to make you an honorary member of our posse! You are now officially a Marauder!" The family clapped and chattered approvingly.

"Well…what do I have to do?" Scorpius asked uncertainly.

"Not a blessed thing," Teddy informed him and Scorpius smiled.

"Then I accept!" And the Weasleys cheered and thumped the table.

"Well, now, that's quiet an honor," Mr. Weasley praised Scorpius once Teddy had popped back to the other end of the table, "And I reckon you're the first Slytherin to receive it!"

"Wait just one minute!" Albus cried indignantly, "I'm a Slytherin too!" Mr. Weasley laughed warmly.

"Of course, Albus. How could I forget?"

"Anyway, Al, your membership is still pending!" James taunted him from across the table.

"Dad!" Albus whined causing all the Weasleys on that end of the table to erupt into laughter.

The meal continued in good spirits for Scoprius felt much more comfortable now that he'd been inducted into the Weasleys infamous crew of misadventure. The only sour note was a mild disagreement at the opposite end of the table between Teddy and one of Albus' uncles. Both wizards expressions had become suddenly stormy and Victoire looked as though she might begin to cry. But Ginny noticed the sudden change of mood and rose from her seat to lean over the two men and whisper something stern to them which put an end to the disruption.

"What was that about?" Albus asked his grandfather.

"Oh that? Don't be concerned about that. Teddy and Victoire are acting their age, which means they're aiming so hard for adulthood that they're actually hitting somewhere nearer to toilet training." They all giggled.

"Laugh now, will you. It won't be long. Soon you'll be in the same place as Teddy and Victoire. Then the next thing you know, you'll find yourself in Uncle Bill's shoes and you'll say 'Why ever did I put my sainted parents though all that tribulation?'"

"Is Teddy going to marry Victoire?" Albus asked eagerly.

"It's certainly quite possible."

"Then why is Uncle Bill upset with him?"

"Oh, it could be any number of things. Some of them are probably rational objections others may be a father's overprotective concern for his only daughter."

"But we all love Teddy!" Lily piped in, "Doesn't Uncle Bill want him in the family?"

"Uncle Bill is just as fond of Teddy as the rest of us," he assured her, "But he knows how complicated adult matters can become and he only wants what is best for them." The conversation then carried on to other topics and quite some time later, Mr. Weasley led the departure from the table by volunteering to help Ginny with the cleanup.

"That's alright, dad," she responded gratefully, "I already have three volunteers." James, Randy, and Quentin all sighed in unison and filed into the kitchen, followed by a levitating parade of dirty dishes. The family began to seek out more roomier quarters. Most of the adults went into the living room to relax with a cup of coffee. Victoire and Gina went upstairs to gossip while Teddy found comfort sulking in the kitchen. Ginny set up the smallest Weasleys with a very entertaining board game that included animated game pieces that changed into different animals as the game progressed and the twins suggested that those who were not condemned to busing the table reconvene outside for a game of Flash. The game involved two teams sneaking around in the darkness, trying to hit members of the other team with an illuminating charm and it turned out to be great fun. Eventually, they were joined by James, Randy, Quentin, and Gina and they played late into the evening until parents began to call out the back door that it was time to leave for the evening.

"Come on," Albus urged Scorpius, "We might get a chance to talk to my dad now!" They went inside to find the house much quieter.

"Good-night, sweetheart!" Mrs. Weasley crooned to Albus, kissing him on the top of the head as she and her husband departed for the evening.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Scorpius Malfoy," said Mr. Weasley, shaking Scorpius' hand formally, "I imagine we'll be seeing you again soon."

"I hope so, sir. It was good to meet you too." Their departure was followed by that of Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermoine, along with their children. Hugo was again slung over his father's shoulder. Apparently, he'd read himself to sleep.

"See you in school," Rose said to Scorpius as she left.

"See you," he agreed with a wave.

"Now Rose, don't you go making friends with strange boys," her father directed.

"Really, Daddy!" she responded in an exasperated tone.

Finally, the house was empty except for Teddy who was sitting alone on the sofa, staring blankly at a Daily Prophet newspaper.

"Where's my dad?" Albus asked him.

"Upstairs, saying goodnight to Lily," he explained.

"We were hoping to talk to him before Scorpius goes home," Albus explained.

"Well, the queue starts right here," he replied irritably. So, Albus and Scorpius took a seat on the sofa. When Harry finally descended from upstairs both Albus and Teddy began to talk at him at once.

"Whoa! Whoa! Slow down! One at a time!" he exclaimed. Teddy put his hands on his hips and glared at Albus.

"I was here first!" he pointed out.

"You two will talk until Mum calls Dad in for breakfast! I only have three quick questions!" Albus justified. Teddy sighed exasperatedly and gave in.

"Fine, but make it quick."

"Thank you," he said and he turned to his father, "Dad…What was the story with that kid that was sneaking around Scorpius' house? Did you name me after a murderer? And what was Uncle Ron talking about when he said Scorpius has relatives he doesn't know about?" Teddy squeaked in outrage.

"What? Are you kidding me? None of those are quick questions!" Albus' father took a deep breath and responded.

"Quick questions deserve quick answers so, first of all, that boy was a muggle-born wizard living in a foster home on the other edge of the park. He was sneaking onto the Malfoy's property because he'd seen Scorpius do magic and he was curious to find out there were other wizards close by…" Albus took a deep breath to question further but his father continued,

"Secondly, no, you are not named after a murderer. Finally, your Aunt Hermoine already got to me about your third question." Albus groaned.

"And, as usual, she is right. It isn't Uncle Ron's business, it isn't my business, it's Scorpius' family's business and he should talk it over with them." Albus again opened his mouth to protest but Teddy interjected.

"Technically, it's also my business, Uncle Harry. So would it be alright if I set the record straight so we can send these two on their way and you and I can discuss why I'm apparently not good enough to marry your niece." Harry nodded his consent.

"Why is it your business?" Scorpius asked.

"Because I'm one of the individuals Ron was talking about."

"You are a long-lost Malfoy?" Albus asked disbelievingly.

"No, I'm a Black. That is, my grandmother is a Black. That's is, she was a Black before she got married."

"How's that?" Scorpius asked, "Grandmother always said she was the only one left in her family."

"Well, she isn't. My grandmother is her sister."

"I thought her sister was dead," Scorpius protested, "She was killed during the second war. Everyone knows that."

"She does have a sister that was killed in the second war…but my grandmother was dead to her long before that. They disowned her."

"Disowned her? Why?"

"Because she married a muggle-born." Scorpius crossed his arms in an attitude of disbelief.

"I find that very unlikely. I know Grandmother isn't fond of mixed marriages, but I'm certain that I could marry a doorknob and she'd still love me. Not to say that it wouldn't put some strain on the family, and the doorknob would probably not be invited to weddings and funerals, but she'd love me just the same."

"Well, you'll have to ask her what her reasoning was yourself. That's my understanding of the situation from what my grandmother's told me. Either way, at the end of the day, we're still blood-related."

"Keep in mind, Scorpius, that your grandmother would have been a young girl at the time and she has probably increased somewhat in maturity and wisdom since then," Harry pointed out, momentarily forgetting that it was none of his business.

"That's…a possibility," Teddy conceded though his tone suggested that he thought it a rather remote one.

"So, you and I are cousins?" Scorpius asked, still unable to accept the idea. Teddy seemed to be really struggling with how to respond.

"Let me be honest," he said at last, "I've never met your grandmother or the rest of your family, and my grandmother hasn't anything pleasant to say about the whole lot of them. I've never gotten a letter or a birthday card or anything really that even acknowledges my existence. My grandparents raised me after my parents died. They are my family. Uncle Harry has been like a second father to me my whole life and Aunt Ginny's family as always treated me like one of their own, despite the fact that we have no blood-relation. As far as I'm concerned, they are my family. You and I, on the other hand, are virtually strangers. We're never going to be family…but, I wouldn't object at all to being friends." Scorpius' face brightened slightly.

"That sounds perfect to me," he agreed and they shook hands. Teddy gave Harry a contented nod.

"I bet you thought that was going to turn into one of those unpleasant scenes," he joked, then he snatched Scorius and held him in a suffocating embrace. "Search your heart, Scorpius!" he wailed through mock sobs, "You know I speak the truth!…It's been horrible for you, searching for your long lost third-cousin for at least…(He paused and glanced at his watch.)…four whole hours!…But now we'll get though this together!" Scorpius wrenched himself free, red-faced and gasping with laughter. Albus had buried his face in a sofa cushion, trying to contain his laughter.

"I'm really quite impressed with how well that went," Harry complimented his adoptive nephew, "Would you care to take Albus' other two questions as well?" Teddy's face quickly fell back into an impatient grimace.

"No, I'd like them to leave so you and I can talk."

"Well, I think that's only fair. Besides, it's quite late and Scorpius' family might be beginning to get worried."

"Right," Scorpius agreed, "Good-night all." They bid him good-night and he rose toward the hearth. Then, with a handful of Floo Powder and a flash of green flame, he was gone.

_It has been brought to my attention that at some point JK Rowling published a list of Weasley decedents that she did not include in the last chapter of Deathly Hollows. In as much as I hadn't any knowledge of such a document being available, I began creating Albus' relations in my first Albus Potter story and I intend to continue using them. I apologize for any confusion to those reading my stories. Obviously, Rose and Hugo are Ron and Hermoine's children which were introduced in Deathly Hollows and I presumed that Victoire was the daughter of Bill and Fleur. I invented Quentin to be her younger brother. I also invented Alexander, Gina, and Randy to be Percy's children and the currently unnamed twins to be George's as well as a younger brother who has not been officially introduced in this story. I've also not introduced Charlie's family yet. Again, sorry for the confusion. _


	10. The Hogwart's Express

The rest of the summer went by quickly. After the evening of the family dinner, Albus and James began getting along a little better. James seemed to forget about Albus intentionally outgrowing him and the family had a few weeks of relative peace. Albus and his father were enjoying a clear, pleasant morning on the patio when the post owl delivered his and James' Hogwarts letters. Harry handed Albus his letter with a smile.

"Are you ready for your second year, Son?" he asked excitedly.

"Mostly," Albus told him. He looked at the Hogwart's seal on the envelope in his hands and was reminded of the discussion he'd been wanting to have with his father since the night Scorpius came over for dinner.

"Dad? When I was over at the Malfoy's house, Scorpius' grandparents were all there for dinner."

"Were they? What did you think of them?" he asked curiously.

"They were certainly different from our family. Mr. Malfoy, Scorpius' grandfather I mean, he was…well…"

"I've always found him to be an extremely unpleasant individual," Harry stated.

"That's kind of what I thought as well. But Scorpius' other grandfather seemed pretty nice. It's hard for me to imagine that they've been friends since they were children. Actually, it's hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to be friends with Mr. Malfoy for any length of time." Albus paused and Harry looked at him inquisitively. He could tell his son had something bothersome on his mind.

"What is it, Al?" he asked gently.

"They were talking about being students at Hogwarts and they mentioned Severus Snape. Mr. Malfoy said he was friends with Snape."

"I believe that is true."

"He said Snape was a Deatheater."

"That is also true."

"And Scorpius' father said that he saw Snape kill Albus Dumbledore with his own eyes."

"That, unfortunately, is also true."

"But you said I'm not named after a murderer," complained Albus, "Why would you name me after one person as well as his killer?"

"What Snape did wasn't murder, Al," Harry told him.

"How's that?" Albus demanded.

"Professor Dumbledore knew he had to die and he could only trust Snape to do it. He planned his death with Snape months before it happened."

"Why would anyone plan to have himself killed?"

"He knew that sacrificing himself would keep a dangerously powerful weapon out of Voldemort's hands as well as keep Scorpius' father from becoming a murderer himself."

"What do you mean?" he asked in amazement, "How could Snape killing Dumbledore possibly keep Malfoy from becoming a murderer?"

"Because Voldemort had commissioned Draco Malfoy to murder Professor Dumbledore, a mission he never expected him to be capable of carrying out."

"But, why…"

"Voldemort intended for Draco to fail. It was psychological torture for him and his parents. They all knew that Draco's failure would mean a cruel and certain death for the three of them."

"That's so…sick," Albus whispered in horror, feeling quite sorry for the Malfoys, despite how unpleasant they were.

"It is indeed," Harry agreed, "And I imagine the fact that they had no friends to which they could turn provided Voldemort with an extra ounce of pleasure. His other followers were too concerned for their own lives. Besides, many of them delighted in seeing the Malfoy family taken down a notch or two. And certainly no one in the resistance cared a bit for the fate of a family of Deatheaters. But what Voldemort didn't know was that the Malfoys had one ally who apparently did care."

"Snape?" Albus realized.

"Exactly. Snape took an Unbreakable Vow to save Draco, and that meant carrying out the task himself. He risked his own life to save Draco's, and his parents'." Albus pondered what his father had told him. It didn't seem to add up to him, though he knew his father wouldn't lie.

"Is that why Voldemort killed Snape? Because he found out he was helping the Malfoys?" Harry's whole continence became slightly sadder at his son's question.

"Oh, no. Voldemort was no more conscious of the capacity for love and compassion in Snape then a boulder is of the wind and water that's slowly eroding it away. He imagined that Snape was just like him, driven only by greed and a lust for power. It was that greed that compelled him to murder Snape, even though he believed Snape to be his willing servant. It never occurred to him that Snape was working for Dumbledore the whole time and was fully willing to sacrifice his own life to save others."

"Is that why you said he was the bravest man you ever knew?" Albus asked him.

"One of the reasons," was his reply.

"What are the other reasons?"

"The other reasons were meant to be kept between Snape and myself." Albus squeaked in protest.

"You name me after a person and you can't even tell me why?" he accused.

"They aren't my secrets to tell, Albus. Snape didn't even mean for me to know them. He gave them to me moments before he died and only because Dumbledore had made him swear to tell me the last part of his plan before I went to face Voldemort the final time. Snape knew he only had a few seconds to fulfill his promise and that I would never trust him if he didn't show the rest of his story as well." Albus could tell at that point that his father wasn't going to budge on the subject. He let the conversation shift to his future classes and the upcoming Quidditch tryouts, but his mind kept returning to Snape.

The remainder of Scorpius' summer was uneventful and calm, albeit somewhat lonely in his youth-free home. His family had all been waiting for him in the drawing room when he'd returned from the Potters' house.

"Well, he's not crying or bleeding," his father commented as his son emerged, covered in soot, from the Floo Network, "I presume it went alright?" Scorpius nodded emphatically. "It was great!"

"Just check him for lice before you turn him loose in the house, will you?" his grandfather instructed from behind the Daily Prophet. Scorpius grinned mischievously and caught his grandfather in a tight hug around the neck.

"I missed you, Grandfather!" he cried and his grandfather pushed him away with one hand as if he was afraid of contamination.

"Really, Father!" Beatrice Malfoy scolded, "Are you going to shun your own grandson over a dinner party?"

"Speaking of shunning," Scorpius interrupted before his grandfather had a chance to answer, "Grandmother, is it true that Teddy Lupin is the grandson of your own sister whom you disowned because she married a muggle-born?" Narcissa Malfoy looked up irritably from her needlepoint.

"Good grief! Don't tell me that little miscreant was there too!"

"Mother, please!" Draco grumbled, "He might not be a miscreant after all."

"Don't be ridiculous, son," she retorted, "Of course he's a miscreant! He helped the children break out of school in the middle of the night and then broke into our house not six months ago!" Draco's hand came up in a gesture of non contesting.

"I'm afraid I'll have to hand you that one, Mother. But those were extreme circumstances and aside from that you know almost nothing about him." Scorpius remained waiting for an answer.

"Well, is it true or isn't it?" he demanded.

"It is," his grandmother responded unemotionally.

"Well, don't you have anything to say about it?"

"I do not." Scoprius crossed his arms in disgust.

"Fine!" he stated, "But if I'm to be held to the same standards of who I may and may not marry, I should like to have a list provided!"

"Very well," she agreed, "I shall see that you have one by the time you leave for school." Beatrice Malfoy groaned.

"Honestly, Mother Malfoy! He's only a little boy! This entire conversation is ridiculous!" Draco grabbed his not-so-little boy by the arm and pulled him awkwardly onto his lap, holding him tight in a full-nelson.

"Don't listen to them, Son," he assured him, "You may marry anyone you fancy…"

"Lemme go!" Scorpius grunted as he struggled to pull away.

"Provided, of course, that it isn't that little Weasley girl in your class."

"Oh yeah? I will!…I will marry Rose!…I will whether she wants to or not!… just to make you mad!" Draco laughed as his son continued to try to break away.

"That ought to be an interesting proposal! My darling! My treasure! Some couples marry for love, others marry for fortune! Will you be my wife out of spite?"

The summer came to an end at last and the time came for the Wizarding community to deposit their children on platform 9 ¾ for the trip back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The Potter family arrived early with their three children, the youngest nearly in tears that she wouldn't be allowed to accompany her brothers for yet another year. The platform was filled with steam from the giant red engine and the shrieks and shouts of hundreds of excited children echoed among the loud mechanical clangs of the train yard.

"Where is everyone?" Albus asked worriedly as he scanned the faces they passed for some sign of his cousins.

"Don't worry," his mother assured him, "We're a little early yet. They'll make it in time."

"Declan!" James cried at the sight of his friend and he disappeared into the mist shrouded crowd of people.

"James Potter, get back here!" Ginny called after him, "He's going to end up missing his train!" She made to follow him into the crowd but Harry stayed her.

"Don't worry, Sweetheart, he won't miss the train. I never had a parent to walk me onto the train and I almost always made it!" Albus giggled. Suddenly, a red blur raced past them.

"Hi, Aunt Ginny. Hi, Uncle Harry," shouted the twins as they ran by, followed by their mother who was shrieking after them and dragging her youngest son behind her. He was heading off for his first year at Hogwarts and looked as though he might combust with excitement as he rattled off question after question.

"Hello Linda, how are you?" Ginny asked.

"I'm fine, dear. How are you?" she responded tersely. She seemed to have more on her hands than she could handle.

"And how's Freddy's big day going?" Ginny asked. Aunt Linda glanced from Freddy to the direction her twins had run.

"Freddy's big day. Right. Freddy, dear, stay here with Aunt Ginny for a moment while Mummy kills your brothers."

"Mummy wouldn't let me bring the broomstick Dad bought me for my birthday," Freddy complained to Albus.

"Sorry, Freddy. The rule is, your first year you have to use a school broom and pretend like you've never ridden one before."

"Humph. That's mental!" Freddy pouted.

"Sorry. That's the way it is."

"Look, there's Hermoine and the kids," Ginny pointed out. Aunt Hermoine approached with Rose and Hugo. Rose's school chest was piled on a trolley along with her broomstick, the cage containing her cat, and her younger brother, who was still reading. Behind her, through the mob of students and their families, remerged James.

"You're here, finally!" he exclaimed to Rose, "Let's get on the train and get a compartment for ourselves before they fill up!" James grabbed a hold of the trolley that held both his and Albus' things and led them anxiously toward the rear of the train where people were beginning to queue up.

"They aren't even letting people aboard yet!" Albus laughed as they joined the queue.

"Look! There's Scorpius!" Lily exclaimed and all their heads turned to see Scorpius Malfoy standing to one side with his parents. His trunk already stowed safely in the baggage car, he was bidding an emotional farewell to his puppy, which he gently handed over to Wrinkles. Aunt Hermoine sent the Malfoys a bitter scowl. She abhorred the practice of keeping house elves.

"Take good care of him, Wrinkles," Scopius addressed his minion, "See that you play with him often and don't let him too near the pond."

"Yes, Master Scorpius," the house elf agreed uneasily.

"Bandit, be good for Wrinkles! And if Grandfather is mean to him, bite him on the leg! Wrinkles, if Dad is mean to Bandit, you do the same."

"Yes, Master Scorpius!" Wrinkles said again with a touch of amusement. Scorpius then said an affectionate good-bye to his parents and then joined the line to board the train.

"Scor!" Albus called to him and Scorpius trotted happily toward them.

"Hey!" growled the gruff voice of the next parent in line behind the Potters, "Just what exactly do you think you are doing?" Scorpius stopped short and stared at the cranky wizard with a puzzled look. Beside the stranger was a tiny girl with enormous, watery brown eyes and curly brown hair that stretched down past her waist. She stared timidly at a piece of gum on the tile floor, as if she found direct eye contact terrifying.

"I'm just talking to my friend," Scorpius explained defensively.

"You take yourself to the back of the line," the stranger ordered.

"He's with us," Harry stated as he took a step toward the stranger. The cranky man didn't back down.

"Then you can go to the end of the line as well. We've been waiting our turns patiently, or is that concept only for us underprivileged nobodies?" Ginny Potter looked as though she has something to say to the man but Scorpius spoke first, "It's alright, Mr. Potter. See you on the train, Al," and disappeared down the platform.

"Well of all the rude…"

"Don't let it spoil the day, darling," Harry cautioned her and the family's attention was soon taken up by the bagman checking their trunks into the baggage car. Albus hugged his parents and sister and then disappeared onto the train. Ginny instructed James to take Freddy aboard and see that he found a seat.

"Come on, Freddy!" James exclaimed, "You can sit with Randy, Quentin, and me. You might as well get used to it. You're bound to be sorted into Gryffindor!" Freddy's eyes grew round and he grinned ecstatically as he waved one more good-bye to his exhausted mother and followed his cousin aboard.

Once on the train, Albus and Rose traveled down the corridor, searching for a place to sit. Albus was pleased when he peeked into one compartment to find it empty except for a large, nervous looking blonde boy.

"Buddy!" he greeted as he slid open the door. The boy's face brightened at the sight of his cousin and housemate.

"I've been waiting forever!" he exclaimed, "My parents insisted on being here psychotically early!"

"Hello, Teacup," Albus greeted Buddy's calico cat as he dumped him unceremoniously on the compartment floor and took a seat.

"How was your summer?" Rose asked Buddy as she stowed her own cat in the overhead and sat down.

"Alright, I guess," Buddy told them, "Dad took me to spend a week visiting my grandparents. Then he took me for a week of visiting the theme parks in Florida…to make up for it."

"Did you get your summer homework done?" Rose asked him. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Is that all you think of?" he chuckled. Rose shot him a dirty look. Buddy reached into his rucksack and produced several sheets of pure white paper covered in muggle printing.

"It's right here," he assured her, "Did you intend to correct it for me?"

"Of course not!" she exclaimed indignantly. She folded her arms snootily across her chest. Buddy shrugged and stuffed the papers carelessly back into his bag.

"Oh, all right. Hand them over!" she conceded a moment later and Buddy grinned as he took the papers out again, smoothed them, and handed them to her.

"Atta girl!" he cheered.

"No fair," Albus whined, "I'm your cousin and you never correct mine!" Rose gave him another look from behind Buddy's essays.

"You aren't in my house, are you? Buddy, how did you write in these perfect lines?" she asked.

"I printed them off my computer," Buddy explained.

"Is that allowed?" Albus asked.

"I hope so," Buddy confessed, "I hate writing. And besides, Professor Schlegel said my handwriting is a crime against humanity." Rose took out her wand and began making changes to Buddy's papers.

"Hello!" came the voice of Scorpius, "Have you got room?" Albus gestured for his friend to join them and Scorpius stuffed his owl's cage next to Rose's cat crate and collapsed onto the seat.

"That bloke was so out of order down on the platform!" Albus informed him supportingly. Scorpius shrugged. "Furthest thing from my mind, mate. I'm so glad to be going back to school! I was about to die of boredom at home!"

The train jolted and began to accelerate. Albus looked out the window for a last glance of his family, but if they were still on the platform, they were lost to his eyes in the blur of faces engulfed by the engine's steam.


	11. Sorting

The start-of-term feast began promptly after the students arrived from Hogsmeade Station. Albus and Scorpius had to part from Rose and Buddy and sit at their own table. The Slytherin table was filled with many familiar faces. Jesse Bennett and Malcom Ward, Albus' roommates during first year, were sitting directly across the table from them, chatting with Donner Bumgarner, another second year. Further down the table, a girl called Sonora Grey was comparing her tan with that of two other girls and giggling maliciously behind her hand at a plump girl at the Hufflepuff table. At the far end, Octavian Bell, sporting his new prefect's badge and an obnoxiously authoritative attitude, was motivating younger students with the tip of his wand to observe proper table manners. The far end of the table was mostly empty. Those spaces were reserved for the new first year Slytherins, once they were sorted.

"Guess what!" Albus informed Scorpius happily, "Donner said he'd switch rooms with me, so you and I can be roommates!" "Spectacular!" he exclaimed in response, "He snores like a pipe organ and his dirty sock smell like the sphincter of a blast-ended skrewt!" Bumgarner lunged a dinner roll from a basket on the table at Scorpius. Bell, the prefect, shot a stinging hex at Bumgarner, which missed it's mark and struck his water goblet instead, soaking his lap with cold water. Bumgarner shrieked angrily and hopped to his feet as the others laughed.

Albus rolled his eyes at his house-mates' antics and glanced up at the head table, where the teachers and other staff had already assembled. Albus noticed Professor Schlegel, his head of house, looking uncharacteristically pleasant as he poured himself a glass of butterbeer. That is, until Neville Longbottom, Albus' Herbology teacher and long-time family friend, approached him with an anxious expression on his face. Professor Schlegel's face fell immediately as Neville spoke to him and he quickly excused himself from the table and followed Neville, robes swishing behind them.

"What do you suppose that's about?" Albus asked aloud.

"Hummm-umph?" said Scorpius through a mouthful of buttered dinner roll.

"Never mind," he sighed.

"I sure with they'd get on with this," Scorpius complained after swallowing, "I'm famished!" The feast continued to be un-served for several minutes and eventually, Professor Schelegel returned and fetched Professor McGonagall, the headmistress, who also left the great hall in alarm. The students were becoming quite restless and Bell was put upon to utilize several more stinging hexes on the unruly Slytherins. Across the room, at the Gryffindor table, the younger boys had constructed a rough Quidditch pitch out of napkins and flatware and were noisily attempting to knock dinner rolls into goals.

At last, the headmistress returned, looking uncommonly unnerved as she thumped the dilapidated sorting hat on a tall stool before the head table. As soon as he saw the sorting hat, Albus was reminded of his own sorting and how nervous he had been that first night, with everyone staring at him. No one had expected him to be sorted into Slytherin, not even his brother James, who had teased him about the possibility for weeks before hand. Slytherin was the house of a vast majority of Britain's dark wizards. They were known for their shrewdness, their ruthlessness, and their thirst for power at all costs. Albus knew that he possessed none of these characteristics so he'd often wondered why he'd been sorted there in the first place. It was a mystery that had plagued him through most of his first year, but he was beginning to realize as he glanced across the hall at his many cousins, all of which sat proudly at the Gryffindor table that he did have one ambition above all others. He wanted to be himself. Though he loved and respected his father immensely, he had no intention of being another Harry Potter nor did he want to be just another face in the Weasley brood. He expected that was the reason he's been placed in Slytherin after all.

As Albus was musing over this, the headmistress positioned herself at the podium and demanded the attention of the students. She apologized for the delay and then went into a litany of rules and announcements. He last announcement garnered the most attention. Their Transfiguration Class teacher, and head of Gryffindor house, had retired from teaching and Professor Longbottom, the Herbology teacher would be taking her place as the Head of Gryffindor House. This announcement was met with a wild affirmation, particularly on the part of the Gryffindor table. Several of Albus' cousins stood up as they applauded and Randy and Quentin pounded their fists on the table jubilantly. Albus clapped politely at Professor Longbottom's promotion but whispered to Scorpius, "Poor Uncle Neville! They'll kill him!"

At long last, the doors of the Great Hall were opened and the first years were paraded in and presented to the head table, followed by Neville Longbottom and Professor Schlegel, who had a tall, bullyish-looking boy sternly by the arm. Both the professor and his captive wore an expression of mutual contempt as Schlegel drug the boy behind his classmates and brusquely released him before returning to the head table.

"Hey, look!" Scorpius whispered, "It's that kid that we caught on our land." Indeed, Professor Schlegel's captive was the mysterious boy who Scorpius' father had caught in the meadow. His hateful glare seemed to travel between Schlegel and a group of first year boys, one of which had his school robes already torn at the shoulder and was sporting an impressive bruise on his left cheek.

"Did he beat a kid up already?" Scorpius exclaimed in an incredulous whisper, "He must be mental!" The girl on the other side of Scorpius gave him a sharp elbow to his ribs and told him to hush. The sorting hat had come to life and was chanting in a frog-like tone, a lengthy song about the students and their future success in the wizarding world.

"Not a very impressive lot, are they," Scorpius whispered again, "Hey Bumgarner, isn't that your brother?" Donner was purposely avoiding eye contact with his little brother, as if he could deny their relation regardless of their identical faces and extremely memorable surname.

The sorting hat finished his song to unenthusiastic applause and the sorting began. The second name to be called was that of Virgil Bumgarner and his brother managed to send him a small smile of approval when the hat sorted him into Slytherin. The next student to be sorted into Slytherin was Daniel Cullen, who approached the Slytherin table with an undiscernibly blank expression. Several names later, Mitchell Fisk was also a new Slytherin. Albus wondered if he was related to Albert Fisk, one of the Department of Magical Law enforcement's repeat offenders and one of the individuals Albus' father often described as 'job security'. After a long break of students being sorted into the three other houses, Slytherin welcomed Oscar and Maynard Irvin, a set of identical twins, and three girls who gazed at the other occupants of the hall as if they were all far too stupid to appreciate how fortunate they all were to be in the glory of their presence. Scorpius rolled his eyes at the repulsiveness of pre-teen girls. The Slytherin house went through a long lull as nearly a dozen students were sorted to other houses. Albus noticed Miranda Reddy, a sister of one of his brother's friends went to Ravenclaw, to the disappointment of the Gryffindor table. Also, the tiny brown-eyed girl whose father had been so bombastic and rude on platform 9 ¾ turned out to be Sarah Vineyard, who shook with terror and squirmed around as Neville tried to fit the sorting hat over her tiny head.

"Just give it up and sort her into Hufflepuff!" Scorpius moaned softly after the girl burst into tears. The hat seemed to agree with him as it cried out "Hufflepuff!" even though only its rim was touching Sarah's head. Sarah let out a little whimper and clung to the stool. The Hufflepuff prefect had to get up from their table and gently led the little girl to her seat. Sarah clung to the prefect's arm as she led her and smiled at her as though she thought the prefect the most gallant of heroes.

"Are they all lunatics this year?" Scorpius asked aloud. The girl beside him kicked him. "No one's interested in your commentary, Malfoy!"

Finally, there were only three students left before the sorting hat. Fred Weasley's name was called and Albus became more alert as his cousin sat on the stool with a broad smile and was sorted into Gryffindor. Albus let his head fall into his arms in frustration.

"Alone in Slytherin again!" he groaned into the table top.

"Don't worry," Scorpius complained as he watched the strange muggle-born boy, whose name turned out to be Jeremy Wright, ascend the stool to be sorted, "We're about to get a new friend." Sure enough, the sorting hat deposited Jeremy Wright into Slytherin without much contemplation. Finally, the last student, Darby Zipf took his place on the stool and was sorted into Slytherin as well.

"That's seven new boys and three new girls!" Scorpius observed and the others nodded approvingly as the feast appeared on the dishes on the table and the eating began. Not much talking went on as they shoveled delicious food into their faces. Albus glanced over at the Gryffindor table where his cousins were taking a moment to congratulate Freddy with claps on the back and proud exclamations. Rose caught Albus staring at them and shrugged her shoulders sympathetically. She knew how Albus was hoping for a housemate in his own family. He looked up at the head table where he caught the gaze of Uncle Neville, who smiled at him warmly and gave him a wink. Albus was looking forward to Uncle Neville's class. Though he admittedly had very little interest in plants, Professor Longbottom had a reputation for making the class interesting.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a ruckus at the end of the table. Jeremy Wright had leaped to his feet and looked as though he was trying to strangle Darby Zipf. Professor Schlegel rose from his seat so fast that he knocked a bread basked into Hagrid, the gamekeeper's lap. He caught Wright by the collar and drug him into the hallway.

"Well, six boys and three girls anyway," Scorpius corrected himself, "He's done for!"

"Good riddance!" Bumgarner exclaimed as he stuffed his mouth with potato.

After the feast, the students were led back to their common room by the prefect. The Slytherin common room was the best one in the school at the end of the day, on account of its location in the dungeons under the castle. By the same token, it was the worst in the morning for all the stairs the students had to climb in order to get to their classes. There were two staircases off the common room that lead down into the dormitories, one for the girl's and the other for the boy's. The younger the students, the further down the stairs they had to go for their room. Albus and Scorpius scrambled down the winding staircase to the second year landing, in order to claim a room for themselves.

"Well that's one less landing, anyway," Albus said brightly as they opened up one of the rooms.

"Here's our things," Scorpius announced as he opened the other small door and peeked inside, "But there's three beds in there. Who's things are those do you reckon?" Albus followed him into the room and examined a cardboard box with a torn lid sitting on the bed spread of the third bed.

"I suppose they'd have to be Donner, Jesse, or Malcom's. No problem though. Once they get down here we'll help them move to the other room."

"What do you suppose happened to his luggage?" Scorpius asked, wrinkling up his nose at the dilapidated box of school supplies. Albus shrugged his shoulders and commenced unpacking his trunk. Scoprius did the same and soon the dark, barren room was beginning to look more homey with Gran Weasley's colorful afghan situated on the end of Albus' bed and famous Quidditch players zooming through the posters on the wall.

"Look," said Scorpius as he opened a large care package on his night stand and removed a box of Bertie Bott's Every-Flavor Beans, "Aunt Warda's already at it, sending me sweets!" He offered the box to Albus who sat down to enjoy some until they were interrupted by the prefect, Bell, who swaggered in and informed them that a house meeting was about to take place in the common room.

"There's an extra bed in here," Scorpius explained to him, "Albus and Bumgarner switched rooms, so this other bed should be in the other room."

"I'll explain that in the common room." Albus and Scorpius's eyes met in a worried expression.

Moments later, the Slytherins were riotously gathering in the common room for the house meeting. The prefects were standing on a long, heavy table top so they could be seen by everyone. The older students had confiscated all the comfortable seats and the younger students were resigned to sit on the large cushions in front of the hearth or on the bare floor. Over the mantle hung a large portrait of an unpleasant-looking wizard with a long, hooked nose. The portrait was glaring at the students with tremendous disapproval.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," Albus greeted the portrait cheerfully, "Did you have a nice summer?"

"Well, he _**is**_ nailed to a wall. What could be more fun than that?" Scorpius reminded him sarcastically. Snape sneered at them as if neither comment merited the dignity of a response.

The considerable din in the room became aggravated as the prefects were trying to get everyone quiet. Bell shot stinging hexes at several students who didn't quiet down fast enough. That is, until one of the female prefects tackled him and wrenched his wand from his hand. The crowd of Slytherins cheered and it took several moments for the room to get quiet enough for the prefects to go through the start-of-term exercises. About midway through their speech, Bell explained the presence of the extra bed in Albus and Scorpius' room.

"Due to an abnormally large number of boys sorted into Slytherin this term, one of the first years will be sleeping in a second year room."

"Hey!" Scorpius complained out-loud, "That's not fair!"

"Quiet, Malfoy!" snapped one of the female prefects.

"But…"

"Can it!" she ordered again. Scorpius crossed his arms defiantly and muttered to himself over the injustice.

"Calm down," Albus whispered, "Maybe it won't be so bad. Probably, it will be Bumgarner's little brother and he'll want to room with him. I'll bet Malcom or Jesse will be in with us." Scorpius ducked down and whispered back to Albus, "Come off it, Al. Do you think Malcom or Jesse were waltzing around King's Cross Station with their junk in a cardboard box? It's not going to be them and it's not going to be Virgil Bumgarner. You mark my words. It's going to be that muggle-born, Jeremy Wright!" Albus cringed nervously.

"Well…maybe…"

"This is going to be a nightmare!" Scorpius wailed miserably.

"Malfoy!" Bell thundered, "I thought I told you to shut up!" A seventh year took a sofa cushion and began pummeling Scorpius with it while the other students laughed.

"Quiet!" bellowed the prefects, all indignant at the constant interruptions. The seventh year gave Scorpius a final swipe with the pillow and the speeches resumed. After what seemed like ages of announcements and stupid questions from the first years, the meeting finally ended and the students were told to go to bed. Albus scrambled to his feet.

"Come on," Albus suggested reassuringly, "Let's go talk to them about it. Like I said, it'll most likely be one of the others in our room." The Slytherins were all quickly heading down the stairwells as Scorpius and Albus moved against the mob toward the prefects.

"What is it, Potter?" Bell demanded.

"Well, we were just wondering who the third person in our room is."

"Jeremy Wright," he informed them irritably. Scorpius mad a gagging sound. Albus attempted to be a little more diplomatic.

"I was just thinking," he began tentatively, "Donner Bumgarner's little brother was sorted into Slytherin. Maybe he'll want to room with his older brother and one of the other second years could be in with us."

"Oh, is that what you were thinking, Malfoy?" Donner's voice interrupted loudly from behind them, "Think again."

"The rooms are already assigned, Potter," said Bell, "We're not changing them."

"That's not fair!" Scorpius whined again, "Couldn't we have one of the other first years?" Bell glared at them coldly.

"No."

"But, what if…" Albus began again.

"Potter, it's going to be Wright. Get over it."

"But he's a freak!" Scorpius told him, "He was just arrested for trespassing on our property!"

"Well, good." Bell responded sarcastically, "You already know each other." Scorpius signed in exasperation. Bell gave them a weak wave good-bye and disappeared into the room on the left that was reserved for the male Slytherin prefects. They were left alone in the common room.

"Great! Just fantastic! Now what are we going to do?" Scorpius continued to whine. Snape's portrait snorted.

"It's the end of the world," he groaned snidely, "You have to share a room with a first year."

"Not just any first year," countered Scorpius defensively.

"And how do you think your father would take it, Potter? When he hears about your not wanting to share a room with a muggle-born?"

"That's not the reason!" Albus cried in outrage, "He…" But Albus was interrupted by the sound of Professor Schlegel entering the common room, followed by a defiant Jeremy Wright.

"Now, this is the common room," Schlegel told him sternly, "Your room is down those stairs, next to last landing. Your things are already there for you. You are to go there immediately, as it's after hours." He paused and looked at Wright, who glared back at him with angry, empty eyes.

"I don't expect to have any more trouble out of you," he continued, "Any more discipline problems and you'll be out of this school for good! Do you understand." Wright glared at him silently. He seemed to have no intention of giving Professor Schlegel any satisfaction.

"Go to bed, then," Schlegel commanded in frustration and slammed the door behind him. Wright turned toward Albus and Scorpius, the hate-filled glare remaining in his eyes as he passed them.

The two boys and Snape's portrait watched aghast as Jeremy Wright disappeared menacingly down the staircase.

"Well, there you have it…the wheel turns and the cycle continues," Snape commented in unmasked disgust.

"We have to get that psycho out of our room!" Scorpius insisted.

"And just how exactly do you propose we do that?" Albus replied.

"We can complain to Professor Schlegal…or even the Headmistress." Albus' response was practical. "They're not going to move him just because we don't like him!"

"Not because we don't like him," Scoprius insisted, "Because he's a lunatic and he might kill us in our beds one night!" Albus addressed the portrait of Snape over the mantle.

"Do they ever let students change rooms once they're assigned?"

"Many students have requested it and I've never seen it allowed before," Snape responded.

"You've ever seen a kid as crazy as Wright before?" Scorpius asked him incredulously.

"Oh, please!" the portrait responded snidely, "I was the head of Slytherin House after all! My first year teaching was right after the first war ended and they were _all_ like that! Angry…uncontrolled…half their parents were dead and the other half in prison. I barely slept at night as the attempts on my life were numerous."

"Merlin's Beard!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"What did you do?" asked Albus.

"I eventually assumed the role of a half-crazed, heartless tyrant and instilled order in Slytherin house through the means of humiliation, fear, and intimidation. In three of four years, the worst of the little terrorists were expelled, incarcerated, or managed to graduate and things got much easier."

"And then you didn't have to be so…you know…evil," suggested Albus.

"No. I found it prudent to maintain my personae of tyrannical oppression after the third Weasley brother was enrolled."

"Fair enough," Albus admitted. He wouldn't have wanted to teach his uncles when they were children either. Their aptitude for mayhem was well documented in family legend.

"It often worked to my advantage," Snape explained, "Potter, your father was convinced for the majority of his time here that I was actively plotting to kill him."

"How was that supposed to be helpful?" Scorpius asked him incredulously. Snape sighed at his apparent ignorance.

"Well, it helped to keep him in check for a few years, at least."

"You'll have to give us some tips," Albus declared morosely, "Because I doubt there's enough humiliation, fear, and intimidation in the whole world to keep Jeremy Wright in check!"


	12. Herbology

_(I've changed the rating of my story because one of my chapters now contains one naughty word. Hopefully those who are currently reading the story won't mind. That is the only reason I moved the rating up to K+. I'd rather be safe than sorry.)_

The first few days of classes were pleasant and exciting for the second years. Albus' favorite classes were Transfiguration and Charms. Scorpius loved Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Like most of the second year boys, they both had a fickle fondness for Potions. They hated the theory but they enjoyed the explosions. Neither enjoyed Magical History. Scorpius was better at tolerating it than Albus. Having been raised in a house inhabited exclusively by older wizards and witches, he'd had ample opportunity to learn about the history of the wizarding world from the unique Malfoy slant. However, the class was taught by the ghost of a deceased professor, whose lectures and entire demeanor were so tired and languid that the poor fellow hadn't taken notice of the fact that he'd died decades ago! The ghost of Professor Binns had taken leave of reality to the point that he often paid no attention to the time and continued to drone on for several minutes past the hour, requiring his students to stealthily creep from his midst so they would not be late to their next class. On some occasions, the students in the next class would find him still lecturing, seemingly unaware that an entirely new batch of students were taking their seats.

Albus was quite excited about starting another year of Herbology with Professor Longbottom. Not only was his teacher a family friend, but he was well known for keeping an interesting class. Scorpius was less enthusiastic.

"It's plants. How exciting can it be?" They soon found out. They entered the assigned greenhouse to find Professor Longbottom warmly greeting the students at the door. That is until he caught sight of Scorpius and the lightness fell from his gaze.

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy," he greeted stoically and Scorpius shook his hand curiously. Once they were out of earshot he whispered to Albus, "Our teacher thinks I'm a Deatheater." Albus shrugged.

"That's probably just because he doesn't know you very well yet. After all, he was kidnapped for half of last year." They made their way through the narrow walkway, surrounded by color and varied strong aromas.

"Careful!" cautioned a seventh-year boy who was wrestling a writhing fern into the ground, dragon-skin gloves up past his elbows, "Don't touch anything! This is the restricted greenhouse and all the specimens inside are classified as poisonous or aggressive!" Scorpius inched cautiously past a large spike-covered bulb that was spewing a fuchsia acid that smelt of ammonia.

The students took their places on either side of a long planting table that smelt of dampness and earth. Rose Weasley smiled at the sight of her cousin and practically pranced over to join them, beaming brightly as she chattered away about the fascinating essays she'd already begun to research. Research was Rose's beginning and end. The day she finished all the books in the Hogwarts library, her life would lose all meaning. Fortunately, the library contained enough massive, ancient tomes to occupy ever her gifted mind for a lifetime. When the hour began, Professor Longbottom appeared at the head of the table.

"Everyone settle down now," he requested as he surveyed the group of happy, curious, and nervous faces before him. His face fell again when he noticed Rose standing beside Scorpius. "Let's have the Gryffindors on this side, Miss Weasley." Rose looked surprised at the request but she repositioned herself to the other side of the table.

"_Told you,"_ Scorpius mouthed to his friend and Albus shrugged his shoulders.

"Mr. Malfoy, I must ask you not to speak out of turn," Professor Longbottom said sternly. Scorpius' mouth hung open slightly. His instinct was to protest, since he hadn't actually said anything, but Professor Longbottom's warning seemed so unnecessarily firm that he didn't know what to say.

"S-sorry, Professor," he finally stammered in confusion. Professor Longbottom gave a curt nod in acknowledgement and went into an introduction of the syllabus, the rules, and basic greenhouse safety. After his lecture, he led them on a tour of the restricted greenhouse, explaining how each group of plants was labeled with different colors depending on the safety precautions they required.

"Anything labeled with a yellow tag must be handled with dragon-hide gloves," he warned them, "If you neglect to protect your hands, you might end up with no hands to protect!" To demonstrate his point, he donned his protective gloves and placed his hand over a large, beautiful blossom that boasted a sunset of colors. Suddenly, the petals sprouted sharp barbs and collapsed over Professor Longbottom's arm, nearly wrenching him from his feet. The students gave shouts of amazement as Professor Longbottom took his wand in his other hand and shocked the flower with a charm, causing it to release his arm, unharmed. The Gryffindors and Albus all applauded and the even the Slytherins nodded their approval.

"What is that thing, Professor?" asked Albus.

"An Amazonian Viper Lily!" the professor announced proudly over their excited prattle, "Very rare! Very powerful!"

"Wherever did you get one?" Rose asked excitedly, scribbling with her quill in a notebook that was already indecently worn out for the first week of school.

"This one was a generous donation to the school from a former Hogwarts herbology professor. It arrived just a few weeks ago."

"He must not like Professor Longbottom too much if he sent that beast of a plant!" Scorpius commented quietly to Albus, "Maybe he wants him eaten so he can have his job back?"

"Mr. Malfoy!" Scorpius' eyes grew quite large. He'd never been scolded in such a way by a teacher before. He'd been given warnings for talking out of turn but the extreme severity of Professor Longbottom's reaction was confusing to Scorpius, especially given the fact that several other students were talking out as well.

"I wasn't the only one talking…" he protested softly.

"Do you want to be part of this class or not?" his teacher demanded. Scorpius nodded his head eagerly, his ears glowing red against his pale hair.

"Then I expect you to follow the rules. Do you understand?" Scorpius did not understand, but he nodded again, hoping that the stinging sensation in his eyes wasn't visibly noticeable to the other students. Professor Longbottom was unsatisfied.

"I expect an acceptable answer, Mr. Malfoy."

Scorpius swallowed and said, "Yes, Professor Longbottom."

"Very well," Professor Longbottom acknowleged and he resumed his explanation of the restricted plants' color coding system. As they continued the redness disappeared from Scorpius' ears and reappeared on his cheeks. By the time Professor Longbottom had set them to work, slicing mandrake leaves and hanging them to dry, he was quite angry at the injustice he'd received.

"What is that miserable old man's problem?" he complained to Albus and Rose.

"Now, wait just a minute, Scor!" Albus insisted, "You're talking about my Uncle Neville there!"

"Well if you ask me, he's a proper git!" responded Scorpius under his breath. Rose looked up in alarm and glanced over at Professor Longbottom to see if he'd heard what Scorpius had said.

"He is not a git!" Albus defended indignantly.

"Did you see how he got after me? What was I doing exactly to get told off like that?"

"Well…everyone has a bad day now and again." Albus explained.

"Or maybe he's just a proper git!" Scorpius snarled again, stabbing at his mandrake leaves violently.

"Honestly, Scorpius!" Rose interrupted, "Don't you see why Professor Longbottom has to be so strict? He's head of Gryffindor House now! He's got to set boundaries or else the Gryffindors will go mad on him!"

"Then why wasn't he unloading on them instead of me?" Scorpius demanded, "There were certainly enough of them talking out as well." Albus glanced at Rose, hoping she had a perfectly reasonable explanation because he was beginning to sympathize with Scorpius' side of things. She shrugged and said, "He probably just heard your voice the loudest. Don't get wound up about it. Next time, it'll probably be someone else." Scorpius was doubtful that was the case, but he reasoned that Rose might very well be right and he felt a little better. By the time the hour was up, he was quite himself again and working at a good speed. He even attempted to smile at his teacher as he inspected his mandrake leaves.

"No one likes a smart-aleck, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Longbottom cautioned him, "Five points from Slytherin."


	13. Devil's Snare

**_Thanks to those who have reviewed! Apparantly I need to do some work on the previous chapter. It wasn't my intention to suggest that the first years don't have Herbology class. In my previous story, Professor Longbottom is MIA for most of the year, due to having been kidnapped, so that's what Albus was referring to when he said that Professor Longbottom hadn't had much of a chance to get to know Scorpius. When I reread the chapter, I could see why readers were confused. I will edit that section to make it more clear. Please review anytime my story doesn't seem to be making sense! _**

_Dear Mum and Dad,_

_Thanks for your letter. Unfortunately, things are not going so well. Do you remember that strange kid that we caught sneaking around in our meadow this summer? Well, they've gone and made him my roommate! It's completely unfair because he's a first year and he should be down with the other first years. (Actually, he should be in Azkaban Prison or maybe a psycho ward at St. Mungo's!) I tried to complain to the prefect and to Prof. Schlegel but neither one would listen. In the meantime, my Herbology professor is being an intolerable pain! He keeps laying in to me over every little move I make! I'm even trying to be especially quiet in class and he accuses me of being disrespectful. I swear I'm not doing anything even remotely annoying. (I'm not making that up.) He just hates me for no reason at all! I don't know what to do! Other than that, I guess my classes are okay. Albus is in the same room as I am, so at least I'm not in with that freak by myself! Sunday is the Quidditch tryouts so wish me luck! Please thank Grandmother and Grandfather for the package of fudge. _

_Love,_

_Scorpius_

Scorpius blew the ink dry on his letter and reached into the drawer on his desk to retrieve a small coral-colored whistle. He gave it a blow and a large pink bubble emerged from the end followed by a very faint, high-pitched humming. The bubble separated from the whistle and floated through the open door.

Jeremy Wright was sitting on his bed, legs crossed, trying to get the hang of writing with a quill. Scorpius and Albus got the impression that writing anything at all was a considerable strain for him. Every few minutes, his glare lifted from the parchment in his lap to his two roommates who were both working in the unnatural silence and trying very hard to pretend Wright didn't exist. Wright's glare shifted from one to the other suspiciously, as if he was trying to catch them looking at him or minding his business. The one time Albus had been unfortunate enough to catch his gaze, he was met with a sadistic, bone-chilling grin. He'd quickly turned his attention to his spell books. Perhaps the most unsettling facet of the situation was the fact that Wright hadn't uttered a single word to either Scorpius or Albus since they'd arrived at Hogwarts.

With a gentle, fluttering sound, Scorpius' black and white post owl, Horton flew through the open door and perched on the frame of his bed.

"Do you have any post, Al?" he asked as he attached his letter to Horton's leg.

"Awwwah!" cried Wright furiously when he saw the owl on Scorpius' bed. He dropped his parchment and jumped to his feet on top of the bed. Horton tilted his head and examined Wright curiously.

"What's wrong?" Albus asked Wright as he scanned the tiny dorm room for the source of his outburst. Wright took out his wand and brandished it toward Horton who spread his wings menacingly and hissed at him.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Scorpius demanded. Wright backed against the wall and flicked his wand dramatically toward the owl but nothing came of it except a few sparks.

"What in the world are you trying to do?" Albus asked incredulously. Wright didn't answer, but continued to swish the wand frantically toward Horton until a beam shot out of the end and hit the owl square in the chest.

"Hey!" Scorpius screamed in fury, jumping to his feet and taking a stance in between Wright and his innocent victim.

"Expelliarmus!" Albus cried and Wright's wand went flying, landed on the hard floor with a clatter, and rolled under the bed.

"Horton!" cried Scorpius, frantically examining his owl for any change or injury.

"Is he okay?" Albus asked, glancing behind him at his friend, but keeping his wand pointed at Wright.

"I think so. He's just frightened," was his relieved reply. Horton smoothed his feathers indignantly and after giving Wright another loud squawk, he collected Scorpius' envelope, which had fallen to the floor, and then flew off through the open door.

"What is wrong with you?" Scorpius yelled at Wright, "You have to control magic! You can't just go around waving that thing like some sort of lunatic!" Wright howled in anger.

"Don't you dare call me that!" he screamed, "I'm not mad!" He rushed toward Scorpius and pushed him backward onto his bed, punching him repeatedly.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Albus cried, catching Wright in a full-body bind. Wright toppled over onto the floor and Scorpius gave him a good kick for himself.

"He's absolutely bonkers!" Albus exclaimed.

"He's a bloody menace!" Scorpius agreed, "Let's go and tell the Headmistress what he's done. Maybe she's got more sense than Schelgel and she'll expel him before he kills someone!" Albus agreed and they raced through the castle toward the head's office only to find Professor Longbottom leaving through the portal.

"Why the rush, boys?" he asked them as the portal closed behind him.

"We wanted to speak to Professor McGonagall," Albus explained impatiently.

"I'm afraid she isn't here. She's gone to the Ministry of Magic Headquarters for a meeting with the board of directors." The boys exchanged crestfallen glances.

"She'll be back late tonight," Professor Longbottom continued, "Is there anything I can help you with."

"No," Scorpius answered, "It's a problem with our roommate." Professor Longbottom examined Scorpius suspiciously.

"That sounds like a matter for your head of house."

"He's not interested," Albus explained, "That's why we wanted to talk to the Headmistress."

"I see," Professor Longbottom responded, still focused on Scorpius' face, "Couldn't you try a little harder to get along together? Surely you can find some common ground."

"It's more complicated than that, Uncle Neville," Albus told him, "We really need her help." Professor Longbottom sighed, "Well, I'm afraid it will have to wait until tomorrow morning."

The next morning, Horton brought Scoprius two envelopes to the breakfast table. One was from his father, expressing sympathy for his troubles and promising to look into the roommate situation. His directive for dealing with Professor Longbottom was not what Scorpius really wanted to hear. Namely, start kissing up to him.

"It's practical advice," Albus pointed out, "Professor Longbottom's a great wizard. If you show him your good side, he's bound to start liking you."

"I guess…maybe," Scorpius agreed with little enthusiasm. He opened the second envelope. It was a note from Professor McGonagall, promising to meet with them soon regarding their roommate issue.

"I hope 'soon' means today!" Scorpius commented, "I don't know how we are going to sleep with him in our room tonight!" The previous evening, they had told their head of house what had happened and Professor Schlegel had gone down into their room to find Wright laying on the floor, still in a full-body bind. The boys had a faint hope that Jeremy Wright would be expelled as Schlegel frequently made this threat to the Slytherins for all manner of infractions. Their hope multiplied when they came down to their room at bedtime and found that Wright was missing. They were dismayed, however, to see him in the great hall that morning, sitting alone at the far end of the table, staring blankly at a cold plate of eggs, tomatoes, and toast.

"Looks like he's gone on hunger strike!" Malcolm suggested as he joined them at the table.

"Let `em starve," growled Scorpius in response, dumping a spoonful of raisins into his porridge and stirring vigerously.

As they were finishing breakfast, Scorpius was provided an opportunity to follow his father's advice and begin greasing the wheel with his Herbology teacher. Professor Longbottom approached the Slytherin table with a broad smile and invited Albus to come down to the restricted greenhouse after breakfast and work with Rose at feeding the Amazonian Viper Lilly. Albus looked down a little sheepishly.

"I would, it's just that Quidditch tryouts for my house team are tomorrow and I was wanting to practice my…"

"Oh, of course!" Professor Longbottom exclaimed understandingly, "I didn't realize. It's quite alright, Albus." Albus gave him a gracious smile.

"Professor?" Scorpius piped up, "I'd be happy to help with that." Professor Longbottom surveyed him with an almost suspicious expression.

"Don't you want to practice as well, Mr. Malfoy?" he asked.

"I need a rest from practicing," he lied, "Besides, I love gardening! I often help my mother in our greenhouse. Granted, it's mostly roses and stuff, but how different can it be?" Professor Longbottom seemed conflicted.

"I'm surprised," he admitted, "I would have thought you'd have a gardener for that sort of thing." Scorpius responded, "We have, but the greenhouse is my mother's hobby. It's not a very good hobby if you have someone else do it. The only one besides her that ever goes in there is me….Because I love plants." The last bit was an outright lie. The main reason Scorpius went into the greenhouse at home was to talk with his mother in peace and privacy, usually to complain about his grandparents. But he thought a common interest would be the quickest way to his teacher's heart. Professor Longbottom was not quite sold, however.

"It would only be you and Rose Weasley in there," he cautioned, "I don't want any problems."

"I get on fine with Weasley," Scorpius argued, "I don't know why people think I don't. Albus, does your cousin dislike me?" Albus shook his head enthusiastically. "Nope. She thinks you're cute. She told me so." Scorpius narrowed his eyes at his friend and snorted.

"She did _**not**_say that!" Albus chuckled.

"She didn't say you were horrible. That's pretty much the same thing from Rose." Scorpius glared at him again and then turned his attention back to his teacher.

"Well, there you have it. She doesn't think I'm horrible. Can I please come and help with the Viper Lilly?"

"Very well," Professor Longbottom decided, "Come down when you've finished your breakfast." After he'd left, Scorpius smiled at Albus.

"There's a good start!" he said confidently, "Now I just have to go down to the greenhouse and pretend to like a lot of plants."

"And prove to Uncle Neville that you aren't a bloodthirsty terrorist."

"And put up with your irritating cousin for a while." Albus gave him a warning look. Scorpius brushed him off.

"She's a bossy know-it-all and your know it!" he insisted.

"Well…sometimes," Albus conceded, "But she is brilliant with spells."

"And potions," Scorpius agreed.

"And charms," Albus added.

"And magical history."

"And she's not useless on a broomstick either."

"No. She…" Scorpius's voice trailed off and his gaze shifted over his friend's shoulder. Albus turned round to discover Jeremy Wright leering at them, his face contorted in a maniacal smile.

"Hey, mind your own business, you!" Scorpius ordered but the eerie observer's smirk only grew broader.

"That's down right creepy, that is!" Scorpius exclaimed and Albus had to agree. The two friends quickly finished their breakfast and left their sinister roommate behind.

When Scorpius arrived at the greenhouse, he was disappointed to find Professor Longbottom had already left Rose to work with Buddy, who clearly had been requisitioned for the project against his will.

"What are you doing here, Dursley?" Scorpius asked. Buddy responded morosely, "Professor Longbottom said there needed to be three people for safety. They're just plants for cryin` out loud! What a waste of a perfectly good Saturday!"

"On the contrary, I find the chance to work with these specimens fascinating," declared Rose ecstatically, "Imagine all the power contained in the magical properties of the flora in this room alone!"

"Yeah, plants can be pretty cool," Scorpius confirmed in a luke-warm tone. Buddy grunted in response as he flicked a large purple beetle from the planting table.

"The only plants I'm interested in are served up steamed with butter or raw with ranch dressing." They all had a chuckle and Rose showed them how to do the task that lay ahead of them. The Amazonian Viper Lilly, in addition to Professor Longbottom's arm, preferred to munch on a long, purple, parasitic worm called a Cracking Pod-Grub. Rose put on her dragon-hide gloves and demonstrated how to cast a tranquility charm over the Viper Lilly to calm it while she extracted the pods from the base of the plant. Once they had enough pods, the three of them carefully sliced them open and removed the wriggling, glowing worms from within, placing them in a waiting jar.

"Only be careful you don't cut too deep into the pod!" she warned them, "If you hit one of the worms they'll-

Suddenly, Buddy's pod burst into purple flame with a loud crack and he tossed it into the air. The pod hit the floor and began to spit and sizzle around like a released balloon until it extinguished with a hiss.

"Wicked!" Buddy exclaimed happily, "You give it a try, Malfoy!"

'Don't!" Rose warned, "These pods are very rare! They're probably worth forty or fifty galleons each!" The boys exchanged impressed glances. They continued to work at extracting the pod-grubs while Rose prattled on about magical plants and their many powers. The boys were surprised to find that they were somewhat interested. Once they'd collected enough, Rose dumped the entire glass into the mouth of the blossom, which had begun to look a little peaky. Suddenly, the flower's petals burst with brilliance and an impressive plume of purple flame rose upward from it's center, filling the greenhouse with a pleasant, spicy aroma. Suddenly, Scorpius felt quite light-headed and warm.

"That's the most amazing flower I ever smelled!" Buddy exclaimed.

"That's not surprising," Rose explained, a euphoric smile on her face, "This herb is the main ingredient in many love potions!"

"Love potions?" Buddy repeated in a tone indicating that he thought the very idea revolting, "It smells like chocolate-oatmeal cookies and hot cocoa to me!"

"I think it smells like the special tea my mother likes to make," Scorpius informed them, "And the sea cliffs where my father takes me flying sometimes!"

"Those smells must remind you of people you love," Rose explained, "Come on, let's clean up before we go." They left the greenhouse cleaner than they found it and proceeded toward the door. Suddenly, they stopped short. Jeremy Wright was standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, the maniacal smile replaced by a burning hatred in his eyes. For several long moments, the four of them just stared at each other, unsure of what to do. Finally, it was Rose who spoke.

"First years aren't allowed in here." Wright sneered at her.

"What are you going to do about it, "suck up"?" he demanded contemptuously. Rose bristled at the insult.

"I will tell Professor Longbottom that you were in here, that's what." Wright strode toward her, so close she involuntarily took a step backward until the edge of the planting table pressed against her back.

"Going to cry to teacher are you, cry baby?" he mocked her, "Guess that's no surprise, given the cry babies you hang out with." He turned his glare to Scorpius whose eyes were fierce with disgust.

"You're a fine one to call other people 'cry babies', Wright! Especially since you practically wet yourself over a post owl yesterday!" His words struck a nerve. Wright's nostrils flared and he thumped Scorpius roughly in the chest with one finger.

"You ever let that flyin` rat in my room again and I'll stuff your pillow with it!" he declared in a low, intimidating voice. Scorpius sneered at the threat.

"That's a laugh! First, you'll have to work out how to do something with your wand besides scratch your ass, you stupid mudblood!" Wright lunged at him in rage and pushed him backward into Rose, who fell over sideways into a large, viney plant that was partially covered with a thick tarp.

"Expelliarmus!" Buddy cried and a scarlet jet flashed from his wand and hit Wright with such force that he was tossed over the table, head-over-heels, and landed on a pile of clay pots on the other side. He lay there, dazed, for several seconds and Scorpius and Buddy both wondered if he'd been knocked out. Finally, he came to and scrambled to his feet. He was bleeding and an impressive bruise was blossoming on his forehead where he'd smacked it on the table. Scorpius and Buddy both held their wands at the ready, but Wright sent them a fierce glare as he ran from the greenhouse.

"What an idiot," Scorpius exclaimed contemptuously, "He even left his wand there on the floor!" Suddenly, they heard a piercing screech behind them and turned to discover Rose being tangled and consumed by a spiny plant that had come alive like a great octopus with green tentacles.

"Help!" she cried, and Buddy sprang into action hitting the great, monstrous plant with several powerful hexes that only served to make it thrash about more and tighten it's grip on Rose.

"Stop that, Buddy, before it strangles me! First, we have to figure out what it is!"

"Right," Buddy agreed and he made several dashes toward the small pick near the base of the plant that contained it's label. After the third try, he managed to scoop it up before being grabbed by the slithery vines himself.

"Catch!" he called as he tossed it to Scorpius. Scorpius shook the dirt from the label and read aloud, "_Devil's Snare, Extremely Dangerous, Do not handle unless under the supervision of a teacher._"

"Look it up in the Herbology guidebook on the table, there!" Rose suggested frantically as the vines tightened round their throat. Scorpius raced to the book and thumbed through it quickly until he found the right plant.

"Here it is!" he announced as his eyes quickly scanned down the page, "Why do we even have this plant in a school? It doesn't even do anything except strangle people to death!"

"Do you want to move it along a little, Malfoy?" Buddy asked sarcastically.

"I'm looking!" he assured him, "Here, I've found it! _If you find yourself ensnared by it's powerful vines, remember to remain calm and still. _Yeah, right!" he interjected, "Like that's going to happen."

"Malfoy!" Rose squealed impatiently.

"It says it can be repelled by light and heat! Here goes!" Scorpius stepped forward and waved his wand. "Lumos Maxima!" he cried and there was a flash of light from the tip of his wand. The Devil's Snare trembled and recoiled from Scorpius, but maintained it's hold on Buddy and Rose.

"For pity's sake, Scorpius!" Rose cried in frustration, "Use the flame-thrower hex we learned in Defense Class!" Scorpius did as she suggested and a hot wave of green flame burst from the end of his wand. The Devil's Snare released it's captives with two heavy thuds and retreated hastily, under the tarp. Rose and Buddy panted and gasped as they staggered to their feet.

"Good job, Scorpius," Rose panted, "Thank you."

"No problem," he assured her and to Buddy he said, "That disarmament charm was perfect! You sure taught Wright a lesson!" Buddy nodded in thanks as he rubbed his tender neck where the Devil's Snare had choked him.

"Not bad, I guess…For a stupid mud-blood." That stopped Scorpius in his tracks.

"I…I didn't mean…I didn't…"

"You didn't know I was muggle born?" Scorpius shook his head.

"Well, I am. This time last year, I didn't even know there was a wizarding world."

"I'm sorry. It just slipped out," Scorpius apologized, "Wright's an awful bully and well…he sort of had it coming."

"Did Buddy?" Rose asked him accusingly, "Did I?"

"You? Your family is pure blooded."

"My father's family," she corrected him, "My mother is muggle-born."

"But I didn't say it about your mother!" Scorpius protested, feeling quite ashamed of himself.

"When you use a word like that," Rose explained, "You are insulting all muggle-borns whether they're beastly like Wright, or whether they're a gifted wizard like Buddy, or a gifted witch like my mother, or like Albus' grandmother." Scorpius' eyes went wide with alarm.

"Please, don't tell Albus!" he begged them, "I really am sorry."

"I won't." Buddy agreed immediately, "I promise." Scorpius looked at Rose.

"Please?" he pleaded again. Rose seemed to be considering the request.

"I'll make you a deal," she said, "If you promise never to use that word again, I promise never to tell anyone you said it today." Scorpius nodded eagerly.

"I swear I won't!" Rose shook his hand.

"Then it's forgotten," she assured him. And the three of them went about putting the greenhouse right again before returning to the castle with Wright's wand.


	14. Compassion

After the misadventure in the greenhouse, Scorpius joined Albus on the Quidditch pitch where he found his friend practicing with bat and bludger.

"I thought you were going out for the seeker position," Scorpius called to him. Albus turned about on his broomstick and smiled at his friend's arrival.

"How were the plants?" he asked with a smirk.

"Utterly fascinating," Scorpius replied sarcastically, "Let's play!"

It was a good day for practicing. The air had a slight chill, but the sun was warm. The leaves were multi-colored and stood out magnificently against the bright, blue sky and it's equally blue reflection on the lake in the distance. They had the pitch to themselves for quite some time, but shortly after lunchtime, they were restricted to one side as a group of Hufflepuff first years were practicing their flying on the other side edge. The boys were enjoying themselves immensely. The cool autumn breeze was sweet on their faces as the raced and lunged after the snitch on their broomsticks. They were feeling so good they'd almost forgotten the tryouts were looming ahead of them the following day.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out amongst the Hufflepuffs on the other side of the pitch and Albus and Scorpius stayed their broomsticks to watch them curiously. It was hard to hear from across the pitch but it looked as though the first years were urging Sarah Vineyard to mount her broomstick. Sarah had her hands over her ears and was crying hysterically while a boy tried to get her to take the broomstick from him. He pried her hand open and stuck the handle inside. Sarah shrieked in fear and threw the broomstick to the ground. Then she tore across the field and disappeared behind the stands. Albus and Scoprius could hear one of the Hufflepuff girls calling after her across the pitch.

"What a mental case!" Scorpius exclaimed.

"Why are they after her like that, anyway?" Albus asked, "What's it to them if she won't ride a broom?"

"They're losing house points, is why," explained a voice from below them. They looked down to find Freddy's freckled face staring back up at them, a worn-looking school broom slung over his shoulder.

"How do you know?" Scoprius asked him. Freddy rolled his eyes.

"Because, we have flying lessons with Hufflepuff. That Sarah Vineyard won't as much as touch a broomstick, no matter what Madam Hooch says. She's fed up with her and she says that Sarah is insubordinate. So until she makes an attempt to ride, Hufflepuff loses ten points a day!"

Scorpius whistled in disbelief. "Ten points! That's awfully harsh! I mean any fool could see that girl is pretty loose in the head! She probably can't even help it!" Albus had to agree with Scorpius. Madam Hooch's punishment seemed incredibly unfair, especially to the other Hufflepuffs. On the other hand, their harassing Sarah didn't seem to be getting the job done either.

"Say, what are you doing out here?" Freddy asked them.

"We're practicing for Quidditch, obviously," Albus informed his cousin, "Our tryouts are tomorrow."

"Well, you're going to have the clear off," said Freddy, "Gryffindor has the pitch reserved now." He gestured towards the stands where the Gryffindor players and fans were assembling, including James and Freddy's brothers.

"You are not going out for your team?" Scorpius asked incredulously as he and Albus landed beside Freddy, "You know they never pick first years!"

"Uncle Harry played his first year," Freddy protested, but then he sighed and added, "But I can't very well tryout on this disaster of a broom!" He indicated the dilapidated school broomstick.

"I'm just here to watch the team," he explained disappointedly.

"Well, since we can't practice here," Albus suggested cheerfully, "Why don't we go over by Hagrid's? I'll let you ride my broomstick." Freddy nodded eagerly.

"You come too?" Albus invited Scorpius, but he shook his head. He'd promised Rose that he'd tell the headmistress about the altercation in the greenhouse before dinner, but he didn't want to do it when Albus was with him, just in case the matter of his major slip of the tongue came up.

"Thanks, but I've got something to do," he begged off. Albus looked curious but waved good-bye as he and his younger cousin headed off toward the gamekeeper's hut.

Scorpius strolled over to the base of one of the stands, where the Quidditch equipment was still laying out. He sat on the second step and began untying his safety pads when he was distracted by a soft whimpering sound beneath him. He bent over and peered into the dark nook beneath the stairs and beheld Sarah Vineyard, curled up in a ball and crying pitifully.

"What's wrong with you, Sarah Vineyard?" Scorpius asked her.

"I don't want to fly!" she moaned between sniffles.

"Why not? Flying is great!" Sarah shook her head vigorously and buried her face in her knees.

"Are you scared?" he asked. She nodded pitifully and sniffed again.

"And my housemates are being so mean to me!" Scorpius tried to reason with her.

"Well, everyone has to try things that scare them every now and then." Sarah wailed loudly and Scorpius quickly switched tactics.

"Have you ever flown before you came to school?" She shook her head.

"Didn't your parents ever take you for a ride on their broomsticks before?" She shook her head again.

"Well, for pity's sake! That's why you're so scared!" he declared in a disapproving tone, as if this lack in Sarah's upbringing constituted woeful parental neglect. Sarah sniffed again.

"Say, Vineyard. I've been riding a broomstick since I was six years old. And those Weasleys…" He pointed to the rampageous band of red-heads that had taken over the Quidditch pitch, "Why, they were all practically born on a broomstick. So, it isn't your fault if you aren't the best flyer in your class, if you've never had a chance to try it before." Sarah widened her brown, watery eyes. She seemed to be warming up to Scorpius. He continued.

"Most witches and wizards start off riding on a broomstick with their parents or with someone else. Then they get to see how easy it is and they aren't scared, you see?" Sarah nodded.

"How would it be if I rode you on my broomstick, just around the grass over there?" Sarah's face became panic stricken.

"I promise I would only fly really low to the ground," he assured her quickly, "Then even if you did fall off…and you wouldn't…but even if you did, it wouldn't hurt at all." Sarah seemed to be considering the offer. Finally, with a scuttling sound, she climbed out from under the steps, a warm smile on her dirt-smudged face.

"Okay!" she agreed. Scorpius led her to a grassy area right behind the stands and helped her onto his broomstick. Sarah shook with fear and clung tightly to his arm, her eyes squeezed shut. Scorpius kicked off gently and flew at a dawdling pace around the grassy area, never rising more than a few feet off the ground.

"You see, Sarah Vineyard!" he encouraged her, "It's not so bad!" Sarah opened her eyes cautiously and smiled at Scorpius.

"It's not so bad!" she repeated. After a few minutes, Scorpius touched down and set Sarah gently on the grass.

"Do you want to try it by yourself now?" he asked her. Sarah abruptly took a step back and shook her head. "Well, maybe we'll try it again some other time," he said disappointedly. Sarah smiled at him adoringly as he stuffed his pads into his satchel and followed him around the pitch toward the path that led to the castle.

All of a sudden, a figure burst out from behind the stands and Scorpius received a sock to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him and forced him to the ground. Jeremy Wright then punched him again in the back. Sarah shrieked in shock and horror.

"Where's my wand!" Wright demanded and he jumped on top of Scorpius and began punching him repeatedly.

"Get off me, you ape!" Scorpius cried in fury.

"Where is it?" Wright demanded again, in between punches. Sarah cried out again and yanked out her wand, hitting Wright with a strange spell that created a sort of black fog around him. Wright quit hitting Scorpius momentarily as he began batting at the cloud, trying to swish it away. The strange spell lingered over him, covering him in a fine, black glittering powder, almost like ground up pencil lead. Scorpius attempted to scramble out from under him, but Wright grabbed him by the neck. Sarah began to wail for help. Just as Scorpius was at the point of passing out, help arrived in the form of James Potter and the Weasley twins, who'd heard Sarah's shrieking from the field and flown over to help. One of them knocked Wright off Scorpius' back with a powerful hex and the other grabbed Scorpius' hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Now what exactly do you think you are doing to our little Slytherin friend here?" demanded one twin, brandishing his wand at Wright.

"I think we need to teach this one some manners!" threatened the other.

"He stole my wand!" Wright accused.

"I didn't steal it, you half-wit!" Scorpius countered, "You left it behind after you attacked us in the greenhouse, and I don't have it." Wright suddenly found himself lifted off his own feet by the two, much larger, much older Weasley twins, who suspended him in mid-air.

"We have some bad news and some good news for you," one twin told Wright who glared at them in hatred as he struggled in vain to escape.

"The bad news is that we don't like it when people bully our friends," said the other twin.

"The good news is that our little brother has been just itching for an opportunity to practice some of the extra-curricular spells he's heard about his first week."

"You know, the ones that aren't in the syllabus?" interjected the other twin with a wicked grin.

"And here we've found him a willing volunteer!" cheered the first, "Let's go see if we can find him!" They lifted Wright by both arms and proceeded to drag him away.

"I think he's with Albus, by the gamekeeper's hut," Scorpius called after them gleefully.

"Thank you, Malfoy. Come along Jamie!" one of the twins called back to him. James Potter looked at Scorpius suspiciously.

"Now we're baby-sitting Malfoys?" he groaned, shaking his head in disbelief, "What did you do with that kid's wand?"

"You cousin Rose has it," he told him truthfully, "That is, if she hasn't already taken it to McGonagall." James turned his gaze to Sarah Vineyard who had scooped Scorpius' bag out of the dirt and was holding it out to him lovingly.

"This your new girl friend, Malfoy?" James asked.

"Yes," Scorpius responded sarcastically, "We're madly in love." Sarah giggled hysterically.

"I truly can't stand you," James told him.

"Well, you're going to have to get used to me. I'm not going anywhere." James grunted in annoyance.

"That's what my dad said."

"Well, you really should listen to him," Scorpius advised, "He _is_ the great Harry Potter."

When Scorpius made his way into the courtyard, he encountered Rose Weasley waiting for him on a stone bench.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"I was practicing Quidditch," he explained, "Our tryouts are tomorrow." Rose rolled her eyes and examined Scorpius' bruising and the tears in his clothes.

"What happened?" she asked, "Did you fall off your broomstick?"

"Wright jumped me just outside the pitch. He wanted his wand back."

"You're kidding!" she exclaimed, "He attacked you again?" He nodded.

"Your cousins had to pull him off me. Then they drug him down by Hagrid's hut." Rose's eyes narrowed disapprovingly.

"What are they doing with him?" Scorpius shrugged his shoulders and then chuckled mischievously.

"I suppose they're doing what Mauraders do best!"

"Well, the teachers simply have to do something about this!" Scorpius shrugged.

"All our head of house has done so far is take off house points and give him a scolding," he told her.

"Come on," Rose commanded, "Let's go tell the headmistress. She'll put a stop to it!"

Minutes later, they were hurrying through the corridor to the headmistress' office, when to their surprise they found Professor Longbottom cheerfully conversing with Harry Potter just outside the portal.

"Well, speak of the devil!" laughed Professor Longbottom when he caught sight of them. Scorpius' eyes narrowed.

"I'm _not_ a devil!" he complained.

"It's just a figure of speech, Scorpius," Rose informed him exasperatedly, "It means they were talking about you." Professor Longbottom smiled at his old friend.

"I'll go and fetch Albus," he said.

"What's going on?" Rose asked her uncle.

"Nothing to get wound up about, Rosie," he assured her and to Scorpius he said, "You have a guest waiting up there." Scorpius looked up in surprise.

"I do? Who?"

"Your father." Scorpius smiled broadly.

"Can I go up?" he asked eagerly. Mr. Potter gestured toward the open portal and Scorpius bounded up the stairs to where his father and his headmistress were apparently having a heated conversation.

"Dad!" he cried happily.

"I didn't think I'd be seeing you this soon, Scor," said Draco Malfoy affectionately as he embraced his son.

"What's going on?" Scorpius asked him.

"That's what we're here to find out," came Mr. Potter's voice as he entered the office behind them, followed by Rose and a flustered Professor Schlegel.

"Where's Wright?" the headmistress asked their head of house and he shook his head in disbelief.

"Mr. Wright is in the hospital wing, having several curses removed." The headmistress' expression was one of exasperation.

"What curses?" she demanded.

"Jelly-leg jinx…slug-vomiting curse…tickling charm…the Weasley works. If you want, I can drag him in here, but I highly doubt he'll be willing to cooperate or account for his actions. He won't even tell the nurse who cursed him."

"Thank you, Professor. That won't be necessary," she told him and to Scorpius she said, "I don't suppose you would know anything about a jelly-leg curse?"

"I can cast one," Scorpius assured her.

"Did you cast one on Wright?" his father demanded. He answered to the negative and was relieved when Albus stuck his head timidly around the door frame and no one asked any more questions about Wright's various afflictions.

"Dad?" Albus asked confusedly, "What's going on?"

"Mr. Malfoy and I are here to express our concerns about your roommate issues," he explained. Albus looked somewhat relieved and took a seat on a padded stool next to his father.

"Now let's hear the whole story," Harry suggested and Scorpius took a deep breath.

"Well, it started yesterday when Wright tried to hurt Horton," Scorpius began.

"Horton?" the headmistress asked.

"My owl, ma'am," he clarified, "I guess Wright was scared of him or something. He got out his wand and just started waving it like mad. Then he hit Horton with a really weak curse. Then he jumped me and Albus used a body-bind curse to stop him." Harry looked at Albus and asked, "Is that what happened?" Albus nodded his head in agreement.

"We told Professor Schlegel and when Wright didn't come back to the dorms all night, we figured he was expelled. Then at breakfast, he was back again, glaring at us like a lunatic from down the table."

"Is that all?" the headmistress asked and Albus nodded while Scorpius and Rose said 'no ma'am.' Albus looked to his friend and cousin curiously. Scorpius hadn't told him anything about what had happened in the greenhouse.

"Wright attacked Scorpius again this morning when we were in the restricted greenhouse, working for Professor Longbottom," Rose accounted.

"What do you mean, Rose?" Harry asked her.

"We were just minding our own business when he barged in, trying to pick a fight with Scorpius. I told him he wasn't even supposed to be in there. Then he and Scorpius had some words and the next thing we knew he had jumped on top of Scorpius and knocked me right into the Devil's Snare!"

"Exactly what 'words' were said, Miss Weasley?" asked Professor McGonagall. Rose looked at Scorpius solemnly and he cringed slightly.

"I don't remember exactly what words, Headmistress," Rose fibbed, "But they were just words. It was Wright who started the fight."

"And Dursley who finished it," Scorpius added, "With a wicked disarmament charm!" The adults exchanged concerned glances.

"Is that how you got all these bruises, son?" Draco Malfoy asked, lightly touching a purple blotch on the side of his face where Wright had landed a good punch.

"No. That's from just a little while ago," Scorpius explained sheepishly, "Wright came back and found me on the Quidditch pitch. He wanted his want back."

"His wand back?" the headmistress asked, "Where is his wand?"

"I have it here," Rose answered as she fished it from her robes and handed it over to the headmistress, "He left it on the greenhouse floor when he ran out."

"Headmistress, I really have to say, this boy should not be allowed to continue here," Scorpius father began, "It seems he's done nothing but fist fight since he arrived! Imagine the damage he'll do once he actually learns a few spells!"

"Mr. Malfoy, you ought to be the last person on earth to judge whether a student should or should not be allowed to attend here!" McGonagall chastised him sternly and Draco's pale face became quite pink.

"Professor, with all due respect," Harry interrupted, "Draco's child is standing here after one week of class, with a torn robe and covered with bruises. I personally find his concern to be both reasonable and justified." McGonagall raised her eyebrows in surprise.

"Would you have me follow his suggestion and fling an eleven-year-old muggle-born boy with no family whatsoever out into the street after only one week of school?" she asked Harry incredulously.

"You know me better than that," was Harry's response, sounding somewhat hurt and somewhat accusatory, "I am merely interested in what is going to be done to keep our boys safe." McGonagall took a deep breath and nodded.

"Very well," she said, "Professor Schlegel is the head of Slytherin house. What do you intend to do about Wright?" Schlegel looked to be near his wit's end on the subject of Wright.

"He's simply going to have to sleep in the seclusion room until we've seen him exercise some semblance of self-control and judgment. I'll have one of the prefects escort him to and from his classes until the fighting stops. If he can learn to control himself, he can return to his dormitory."

"May I ask why he is even in the same room as my son in the first place?" Draco demanded in a voice tinged with anger, "They aren't in the same year!" Professor Schlegel explained how the prefects were trying to keep the room numbers as even as possible.

"Professor, if you insist on allowing this boy to continue his reign of terror, that's your decision, but I must ask you to consider my son's safety and separate them permanently." Schlegel seemed troubled by the request.

"We never allow students to switch rooms once they're assigned," he told Draco, "If we did, we'd have students switching constantly."

"Nonetheless, it needs to be done." Schlegel looked as though he wanted to argue, but Harry spoke first.

"Albus, do you think it's a good idea for Wright to be moved in with the first years?" Albus examined his father's face. He had a strong feeling that his father's question was some sort of test. His personal opinion was that Wright ought to be moved to another continent, but he highly doubted that was the answer his father was looking for.

"Well, I don't think it would be good news for the first years…but I don't really want him for a roommate myself either." Harry fell silent for several moments. He seemed somewhat unsatisfied with his son's response. When he spoke again, his voice was quiet.

"I ask the same as Mr. Malfoy, Professor. I'd like them to be in separate rooms permanently."

"Very well," Professor Schlegel conceded, clearly frustrated beyond his will to argue, "If Wright manages to get himself under control, we'll cram him into one of the first years' rooms." Albus and Scorpius exchanged relieved smiles.

"May we consider the situation resolved?" the headmistress asked them and Draco nodded, relief and vindication clearly visible in his expression.

"Then I shall take my leave," she told them, "Professor, let's go down and have a little talk with our friend in the hospital wing." She took Wright's wand from her desk and Professor Schlegel followed her from the room.

"Thank you!" Scorpius exclaimed once they'd departed.

"Yeah, Dad," Albus agreed, "You're the best!"

"I'm not so sure," responded Harry, who looked genuinely conflicted.

"Dad?" Harry sighed.

"Albus, in the six days you've been roommates with Wright, how much have you learned about him?" Albus didn't like the direction the conversation was heading.

"Nothing," he admitted, "Wright never said a word to me."

"And most of what he's said to me has been death threats," Scorpius added. Harry stood up, turning his back on them as he perused the dozens of portraits of former Hogwart's heads that had always adorned the walls of the head's office. Albus followed his father's gaze to the frames that were labeled Albus Dumbledore and Severus Snape, the two men he'd been named for. Both frames were empty.

"Albus?" Harry asked quietly.

"Yes, dad?"

"I have to ask you to do something that is going to seem very strange and very difficult."

"What's that?" Albus asked with reservation.

"I need you to give Jeremy Wright another shot at being your friend." Albus' eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"What? Why? Did you hear what he's been doing?"

"I heard. And I also heard worse than that from his muggle social worker after we arrested him. Wright was abandoned at birth. He's never known any family or lasting friendships. He's been in orphanages and children's psychiatric wards for most of his life. One can't expect him to become fully socialized in just one week after eleven years of chaos. And none of his past is his fault." Albus crossed his arms impudently, still completely opposed to his father's crazy plan.

"His past isn't my fault either," he pointed out, "How do I come to deserve the honor of rehabilitating him?" Harry nodded at his son's logic.

"You are right. You didn't cause this problem. What I'm asking of you is much more than I would have done when I was your age. But it's terribly important." Albus sighed.

"Dad, I don't like this at all…But I reckon with all he's been through…well, I suppose I can give him one more chance. I don't think it'll come to any good though."

"In all honestly, Son, it's probably going to have to be more than one chance." Albus narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Exactly how many chances are we talking?" Harry shrugged his shoulders.

"As many as it takes. Probably a lot more than you'll want to give." Albus groaned.

"Dad, is this really that important?" he whined.

"Immensely," confirmed Harry. Scorpius snorted incredulously.

"Do I have to do this too?" he demanded of his father.

"No," Draco responded resolutely.

"Yes, you do!" Albus countered, "If I have to be nice to Wright, you have to do it with me!"

"My foot, I do!" responded Scorpius irritably, "I don't want anything to do with Wright!" Albus shot him an accusatory glare.

"Some friend you are!" Scorpius rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

"Fine, then. _If_ Wright stops trying to kill me, I _might_ help a little."

"Alright," Albus agreed, "I reckon that's going to have to be good enough." Harry beamed at them.

"I'm pretty proud of you boys," he told them, "I firmly believe you can rid the world of a lot more evil with a few minutes of compassion a day then any hero has ever done in battle."

"How charming!," Draco drawled sarcastically as he rose from his chair, "We can have that etched on their gravestones when this little delinquent kills them both!"

"Nonsense, Draco," Harry said with a chuckle, "I have absolute faith in them. They'll be able to straighten him out." They said their good-byes and Scorpius, Albus, and Rose headed eagerly to dinner.

"Well, at least he's out of our room now!" Scorpius commented cheerfully.

"Yeah," Albus answered uncertainly. He wasn't at all confident in the mission with which his father had charged him. His confidence wasn't improved at all when they entered the great hall and he noticed Jeremy Wright had been reassigned to eat at a tiny table in the corner. His food lay on his plate, untouched, as he stared directly into the stone wall that was two feet in front of his nose. Albus wondered if his father wasn't just as crazy as Wright was.


	15. A School Yard Fight

Once Jeremy Wright was indefinitely banned from the Slytherin dormitory, Albus and Scorpius' school year began to go much more smoothly. After their fathers' visit, they returned to their dorm room to find Wright's belongings and furniture had already been removed. The only trace of him left was a strange cloud of black dust that was floating in the corner where his bed formerly had been.

"What is that?" Albus asked, prodding the odd phenomenon with his wand.

"I _think_ it's the spell Sarah Vineyard cast on Wright," Scorpius told him. Albus squinted at the weird, glistening fog as its shape and color morphed continuously.

"What does it do?" he asked finally.

"I'm not really sure," Scorpius admitted, "That might be it." What Sarah's spell lacked in effectiveness, it made up for in endurance. After attempting every reversal spell they knew, they could not get rid of the mysterious cloud. They imparted the challenge to Rose, who still could not identify the strange spell after over two hours in the library. At one point, Scorpius caught Sarah in a hallway between classes and attempted to ask her about the spell. Her face fell cold as soon as he mentioned it and her eyes became glued to the floor, as if she was ashamed. He couldn't get her to say anything about it. Finally, the two decided to ignore the problem, as the spell didn't seem to be causing any harm anyway. Eventually, the cloud began to loose it's shimmer and the shiny, black dust gradually descended to the floor, where it was swept up by the Hogwart's house elves.

Albus was overjoyed to learn that both he and Scorpius had secured a position on the Slytherin Quidditch team. Scorpius would be playing seeker and Albus would be a chaser.

"You don't mind do you?" Scorpius asked him after they'd read the announcement on the Slytherin bulletin board. He knew both Albus' father and older brother were seekers for the Gryffindor team.

"Mind? It's perfect! Now we can both play!"

The weeks passed and Slytherin House began to get back into the routine of both Quidditch and classes. One evening, during the fourth week of the term, the boys were sitting at dinner when Albus' plate was upset by a crudely made parchment airplane that spun around his head and then crashed into his potatoes. Albus opened the folds to reveal an invitation from Hagrid to have tea at his hut the next afternoon. Albus looked up to the staff table and grinned at Hagrid, giving him a thumbs up. He glanced at the Gryffindor table, where his eyes met Rose's. She waved a similar airplane at him with a smile. James was laughingly fishing his invitation out of the gravy boat. Albus loved spending time in Hagrid's hut. He reckoned Hagrid was the most pleasant and interesting grown-up he knew. Perhaps that was because he was so un-grown-up-like in many ways.

Albus glanced over at Scorpius, who was violently jabbing at his turkey with his fork. His friend was putting on a goblin-quality pout. Albus couldn't really blame him. Professor Longbottom had been getting after him again in Herbology class. Albus couldn't understand it. He'd always been fond of his Uncle Neville, but ever since his promotion to head of Gryffindor House, he seemed to be unjustly down on Scorpius. Albus knew that other people often treated Scorpius like he was a perpetual carrier of dragon pox, but he'd expected Professor Longbottom to be more reasonable.

During their last Herbology class, the students had been assigned to extract a fuchsia-colored acid from the bud on a spine-covered cactus. When Buddy first attempted to squeeze the dangerous substance into his vial, the bulbous cactus sprayed everyone in the vicinity with a yellow pollen that caused them all to sneeze uncontrollably until Rose managed to gasp out the appropriate counter spell.

"Merlin's Beard," Scorpius had said, once he'd regained enough wind to speak, "This lesson is as dangerous as Hagrid's How-To-Shoe-a-Hippogriff lesson!" The others laughed amiably.

"Mr. Malfoy!" thundered Professor Longbottom's voice from behind them. Scoprius took a deep breath. What on earth had he done now?

"Yes, Professor Longbottom?" he answered hesitantly.

"You will please address your teachers as 'Proffessor'."

"But he isn't even here!" he protested, "And _everyone_ just calls him 'Hagrid'. Albus and Rose call him 'Hagrid' all the time and you don't say anything to them!"

"Are you talking back to me?" Professor Longbottom demanded.

"I'm just saying…"

"That will be a Saturday detention," his teacher interrupted, "Unless you have more to say." Scorpius had quite a lot more to say, but he also had the sense to keep it to himself.

"Yes, Professor Longbottom," he'd responded sulkily. Now, Albus watched his friend as he attacked his dinner ruthlessly, and he got the impression that Scorpius was imagining his meat was their Herbology teacher's face. Albus wasn't the only one who'd noticed Scorpius' misery. Sarah Vineyard had trotted over from the Hufflepuff table to cheer him up with a surprise bear hug, an act that set his housemates into fits of riotous laughter.

"Shut up!" Scorpius hissed at them as soon as she'd departed. Albus couldn't help but laugh as well at Sarah's unsolicited attentions toward Scorpius, but he tried to be more discrete and chortled into his napkin as he pretended to wipe his mouth.

"Hey!" cried Bumgarner as his eyes followed Sarah Vineyard's return to the Hufflepuff table, "They've got pudding over there! How come we haven't got any?" The Slytherins craned their necks to check the other houses' tables and sure enough, they all boasted delicious-looking puddings. The students caught Professor Schlegel as he passed by.

"Professor, how come the other houses have pudding and we don't?" Professor Schlegel shot them a dirty look.

"I don't know," he responded sarcastically, "Maybe it's because they aren't dead last in house points. Pudding is for little witches and wizards who mind the rules, and study their spells, and don't mouth off to their Herbology teachers." Scorpius became indignant.

"I was NOT..!" he began, but Professor Schlegel silenced him with a look that clearly stated he was not entertaining debate on the subject.

"He took away our dessert!" Jesse Bennett exclaimed once he'd gone, "He must be the meanest man alive!"

"You'd better make it good with Longbottom soon, Malfoy!" directed Malcom Ward, "I don't take too kindly to missing out on sweets!" Scorpius groaned in consternation.

The next morning, the sky was bright and sunny and despite the winter chill that was setting in, the students flocked outside during their breaks in between classes to enjoy the sunshine. Albus and Scorpius were sitting at a picnic table in the courtyard with Rose and Buddy, getting quizzed for their next potions test. The Hufflepuff first years paraded past on their way down to the Quidditch pitch for their flying lesson and the study session was interrupted by Sarah Vineyard, who bounced up to Scorpius, smiling happily.

Scorpius had suffered considerable teasing from the other members of his house for his being the object of admiration of such a bizarre girl. He had to admit, even he found it a little weird that Sarah was so taken with him. However, he'd decided to handle Sarah's awkward attentions with a upright and almost boastful demeanor as if being good friends with an partially insane Hufflepuff girl a year younger than himself was the most natural thing in the world and he had no idea why everyone else wasn't doing the same. The adoption of this sanctimonious attitude had kept the sniggering to a dull roar and for the most part, seemed to prevent anyone from hurting Sarah's feelings, which were apparently quite delicate.

"I'm going to my flying lesson," she updated him in a cheerful whisper. She was apparently under the impression that Scorpius liked to be kept abreast on such matters.

"Great!" he answered supportively, "Are you going to try and fly today?" She nodded her head emphatically.

"Yeah, I'm going to fly today!" she told him excitedly, then she added cautiously, "But not too high!" Scorpius held up his hand and she gave him a high five and ran through the courtyard after her housemates.

"You sure are nice to that girl," Rose commented slyly.

"Why shouldn't I be?" he demanded defensively. Rose shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, not everyone in your house is as tolerant of people who are different…and she's really, really different!" Buddy pointed out. Scoprius rolled his eyes.

"If I blew her off and made her cry, everyone would call me a monster!" he insisted, "I can't win!"

"I think its goood," said Albus, "Being nice to Sarah can be practice for being buddies with Wright, if he ever manages to come out of seclusion again."

"That's likely," he replied sardonically, " Wright's not just different, he's a disaster! Besides, we don't even see him enough to be nice to him!"

It was true. Ever since the meeting with their fathers, Professor Schlegel had kept Wright under lock and key. Wright slept in a tiny room that was off the hospital wing and was not allowed in the Slytherin common room without a prefect or teacher. He was escorted to and from class by the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin House ghost. At meals he sat at the seclusion table in the corner. Albus and Scorpius had no classes with him so they had very little opportunity to make any headway on the mission Albus' father has assigned.

It was coming close to the hour and the students were beginning to herd back into the school. A crowd of Gryffindors called for Buddy and Rose to join them and they packed up their books and took their leave. Albus realized he'd forgotten his potions homework on the desk in their room so he ran off to the dormitory so as to collect it and get back to the classroom on time. Scorpius packed up his bag and began to make his way toward the main entrance.

Suddenly, he was alerted to a commotion behind him. He turned and saw a crowd forming across the courtyard. He could hear several boys laughing in a malicious tone and above them, a familiar sobbing sound. Scorpius rolled his eyes. He couldn't see through the crowd, but be was fairly certain that someone had upset Sarah Vineyard again. Sure enough, once he'd pushed his way through to the inner circle, he found Sarah shrieking hysterically at the Irvin twins, Maynard and Oscar, who'd apparently gotten hold of Sarah's scarf and were taunting her with it. Scoprius took a deep breath and before he'd had a moment to think it over he shouted, "Stop it, you two gits, before I knock your heads together!" The Irvins stopped and stared at Scorpius, blinking stupidly in their confusion. A quiet snicker emerged from the crowd behind him and Scorpius became increasingly aware of the fact that despite being a year younger, the Irvins were a fair bit taller than he was and quite thuggish in appearance. He also recalled the fact that there were many present who if given the chance would cheer on a Malfoy's obliteration with tremendous amusement. However, it was too late to back down now. The twins glanced at each other incredulously and then faced off to Malfoy with their arms crossed.

"You can't do anything to us, Malfoy," Maynard challenged. Scorpius knew it was Maynard because he had a rough-looking scar over his left eyebrow.

"You wanna bet?" Scorpius returned. Maynard looked at his brother as if to ask if he wanted to bet. Scorpius drew his wand and Oscar looked uneasy.

"You give her back her scarf, you dolts!" Scorpius demanded. Oscar looked down at the scarf in his hands then back at the crowd of students.

"We were just having some fun," he grumbled.

"Oh, that's really funny," Scorpius responded sarcastically, "Picking on a little girl who's…" he trailed off. Sarah was still standing right there, tears streaking her cheeks. The Irvins didn't hesitate though.

"A complete dingbat?" Maynard suggested and they both howled with laughter. Scorpius flicked his wand in a rage and the two Irvin boys' skulls crashed together with a loud crack, as if they were two high-power magnets. They fell over each other to the ground as the crowd chuckled.

"Oi!" they both groaned in agony and then they commenced to screech in shock and fear as they realized they couldn't separate their heads. The other students began to crow with laughter as the two now-conjoined twins arduously attempted to get to their feet, each on pulling on the other. Scorpius glanced at Sarah whose teary-eyes were now filled with hesitant delight.

"Malfoy, put us right!" Oscar begged.

"Why?" Scorpius laughed, "You're both clearly operating on only half a brain, so maybe if we combine the two…" Scorpius didn't get the chance to finish his insult. The mob of students had begun to dissipate suddenly, a sure sign that teacher was approaching. Scorpius quickly uttered the counter-curse and stuffed his wand back into his pocket. Sarah collected her scarf and with an adoring smile at Scorpius, nipped out with the rest of the crowd.

"What's going on here!" demanded Professor Schlegel, "Malfoy, so help me, if you've been fighting…"

"Malfoy put a Conjoining-Curse on the twins, Professor," tattled Sonora Grey. Scorpius gave her a dirty look.

"Is that right?" Schlegel asked.

"No," Scorpius lied casually. Schlegel examined the Irvins, who suddenly stopped massaging their scalps.

"Did Malfoy curse you?" he demanded. Scorpius raised his eyebrows at them. They both shook their heads unconvincingly. Schlegel glared at them and then again at Scorpius. He clearly didn't believe any of them but he didn't seem to want to waste his time disciplining them.

"You're lucky I still have ten minutes on my lunch," he informed them bitterly, and then he departed from them. Scorpius turned and raised his wand menacingly toward Sonora Grey who laughed teasingly and ran into the school. Most of the other students had gone as well. Only the Irvins remained. Oddly enough, they seemed to be waiting for permission to leave.

"Go to your flying lesson," Scorpius ordered, "And leave Vineyard alone!" The twins shuffled off toward the fields. Scorpius was a little surprised at their obedience. He turned around to go back into the school himself when he caught sight of James Potter, standing in the doorway and glaring at him with disapproval.

"Cursing little kids, Malfoy?" he asked.

"Just giving them back a little of what they dish out is all," Scorpius retorted, "What are you best mates with the Irvin twins?" James snorted at the ridiculous nature of the suggestion.

"Say, aren't you the one who tried to murder me this summer with a cursed broomstick?" Scorpius recalled, "Awful high and mighty all the sudden, aren't you?" James didn't answer. He just looked away from him. Scorpius moved to pass him, but James stopped him with a finger to his chest.

"I don't like you," James told him.

"So you've said," he replied, pushing his arm away and continuing past.

"I want you away from my brother," James called from behind him. Scorpius turned round and looked at him.

"That's not going to happen, mate." Then he turned once again and headed downstairs for his potions lab.


	16. Tea With Hagrid

Later that afternoon, Albus, James, and Rose were lounging comfortably in the small, cozy hut that was the home of Rubius Hagrid. Hagrid was the school's gamekeeper and resident expert on all magical creatures, particularly those that had absolutely no business being anywhere near a school. Hagrid had been a Hogwarts fixture for over three generations and was a beloved family friend to the Potters. He had, in fact, been the one to reintroduce Harry Potter to the wizarding world when he was eleven years old and had rescued the young orphan from the abusive grasp of his muggle relations, the Dursleys.

Because Hagrid was a half-giant, he was the largest person that most the students were ever likely to meet. His appearance was wild and rough and frequently unkempt and his voice had a tendency toward boisterousness. Despite all this, his demeanor was one of such cheerfulness and gentleness that most of the students felt instantly close to him and even those as timid as Sarah Vineyard trusted him without much hesitation. Some of the students, mostly Slytherins, would occasionally ridicule him for his perceived want of sophistication but Albus knew better. Hagrid's trusting nature and overwhelming exuberance wasn't the result of simplicity, but wisdom and that wisdom had always made him a favorite of both Albus and James.

"Let's hear it fer the new Slytherin chaser!" Hagrid announced happily as he placed a delicious-smelling, slightly lopsided spice cake in the middle of the table. Rose applauded politely and James rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Now, what sorta way is that ter congratulate yer own brother!" Hagrid scolded him mildly.

"I'm sorry, Al," James retorted, "Congratulations on being a traitor!"

"A traitor to who exactly?" Albus demanded. James narrowed his eyes and didn't answer.

"Oh, stop it, James," Rose chastised him, "Do you honestly expect Albus to forgo Quidditch completely just because he can't play on the same team as you?" James snorted.

"It's a good thing he is in Slytherin! If he'd managed to get into Gryffindor, there's no way he'd have even made our team!" he assured them confidently.

"James!" Rose cried in outrage.

"Rubbish!" Hagrid exclaimed, "Why our Al's jus as good as any o` 'em on a broomstick!"

"I reckon you're just scared that now you have to play against me," Albus boasted, "You don't want to be shown up by your little brother!"

"Please," James responded sarcastically and he stuffed a wad of spice cake into his mouth. Hagrid took that opportunity to change the subject.

"How're yer classes comin' along, Al?" Hagrid asked him.

"Pretty good," Albus told him, "Potions is a lot tougher this year than last but I'm keeping up. I really like Charms class too."

"An Herbology o` course!" Hagrid added, "With Professor Longbottom."

"Yeah…I guess," Albus agreed reservedly. Hagrid seemed confused.

"What's that about?" he asked, "Yeh loved Professor Longbottom's class las' year! What's wrong?"

"I don't know," he reluctantly replied, "Uncle Neville seems to be acting different lately." James swallowed and looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Albus hesitated before speaking. He hated to speak against their family friend.

"It just seems like he doesn't treat everyone the same."

"Yeh don' mean teh say Neville's bin treatin' yeh bad!" Hagrid asked in alarm.

"Oh, no!" Albus assured them, "It's not that."

"It's Malfoy," Rose interrupted, "Professor Longbottom seems to be unduly strict with him." Hagrid relaxed.

"Well, jus' maybe there's more teh that than yeh know about," he explained to them.

"Well, maybe Professor Longbottom ought to explain whatever it is to Malfoy, because he doesn't seem to have a clue of what's going on or why he keeps getting into trouble. He just knows his teacher seems to hate him," Rose said dryly. Albus raised his eyebrows at his cousin's strong words. Thus far, she had taken care not to express a negative opinion of their teacher's treatment of Scorpius. In fact, whenever Scorpius complained, she usually defended Professor Longbottom, citing the stress of his new promotion as the cause. Albus found he was actually relieved that she had noticed the same strange behaviors, though he was now even more conflicted about it. He couldn't understand how someone he knew was a very good wizard could be so unfair.

"Let's all cry a river for Malfoy," James moaned mockingly, "Did it ever occur to you, little brother, that Uncle Neville doesn't like Malfoy because he's evil?"

"Scorpius isn't evil," Albus responded matter-of-factly, "He's never done anything to you. What is your problem with him anyway?" James rolled his eyes again.

"I just don't see why you have to spend so much time with him," he complained.

"I don't know," Albus pondered sarcastically, "Maybe because a certain hat has us in all the same classes, eating at the same table, playing on the same Quidditch team, washing in the same bathroom, and sleeping in the same room?"

"Well, you're my brother, not his!" James retorted. Albus put his hands on his hips crossly.

"Well, I like that! Aren't you the same brother who said all last year that he didn't want anyone to know we were related?"

"Well, maybe that was a joke and I didn't really mean it!" James snapped. Albus didn't know how to respond at first. Was James hatred of Scorpius based on jealousy?"

"What do you want me to do?" Albus demanded finally, "Am I just supposed to sit silently in my dorm room and not talk to anyone in my house again?"

"Never mind!" James growled in frustration. He folded his arms up on the extra-high table top and buried his face in his aggravation.

The four of them continued chatting for quite some time, until the sun began to lower and the last orange beams of daylight filtered through the tree line and spattered bright patches of light on the wall opposite Hagrid's tiny window.

"I s'pose it's about time yeh went back an got yerselves ready fer dinner!" Hagrid recommended and the three of them rose and headed for the door.

"Bye!" Rose said to them as she and James ran up the path toward Gryffindor tower. Albus watched his brother contemplatively.

"I'll never figure James out," he complained to Hagrid.

"Yeh two sure are a laugh," Hagrid told him with fondness, "Brothers…Don't s'pose yeh ever met me half-brother, Grawp?" Albus shook his head. Hagrid's half brother was a whole giant and though Albus had never had the pleasure of being around during one of his infrequent visits, he'd heard some pretty harrowing tales from other members of his family.

"He kin be a han'ful at times, bein' what he is an all, but we're brothers an that is that." Albus wished James could be at least half as reasonable as Grawp.

"I don't understand it," Albus whined again, "All summer he acts like he wishes I would disapperate permanently, now he complains that I'm spending too much time with Scorpius and not with him."

"Try an be patient, Al," Hagrid suggested, "Yer brother never expected in a million years that yeh'd be sorted in ter Slytherin! I s'pose he figured yeh'd be right behin' him in Gryffindor, jus' like yeh've bin his whole life."

"But it's been a whole year now," Scorpius protested, "How long is he going to be like this?"

"I don' reckon much longer," Hagrid consoled him, "He'll come roun'. He's not likely ter do without his own brother, now, is he? Jus' don' yeh let yerself get too hard-hearted ter take him back when he does!"

Albus made his way slowly up to the castle, thinking about the advice Hagrid had given him. Once he arrived in the courtyard, he was met by Scorpius, who'd apparently been waiting on him.

"Where have you been?" he asked impatiently.

"Down at Hagrid's for tea," Albus explained, "What's going on?"

"Guess who's been let back into the dormitory!"

"Jeremy Wright?" Albus answered with a groan and his friend nodded.

"Come on," he suggested urgently, "Let's get up to dinner and see what he does!"

Dinner was surprisingly uneventful. Wright returned to the Slytherin table and sat on the far end next to a large empty space, and then a prefect. The other first years situated themselves clear on the other end of the table. None of them seemed overjoyed at his return. In fact, they seemed to be ignoring him entirely.

"Do you think we should sit with him?" Albus asked Scorpius.

"I do not," Scorpius responded, an incredulous expression on his face.

Once they'd all eaten and were clearing out, Albus took a deep breath and left Scorpius behind to approach Wright.

"Er…Hi, Jeremy," he greeted uncertainly. Wright glanced back at him quickly and muttered something unintelligibly.

"I'm glad you've come back to the table," Albus told him, trying very hard to feel genuine about what he was saying, "No hard feelings?" He offered Wright his hand. Wright didn't look up. He merely muttered something that sounded like, "Just leave me alone." Albus looked back at Scorpius questioningly. Scorpius shrugged his shoulders and beckoned for his friend to come back.

"Well…er…I'll see you later." Albus told the back of Wright's head and he returned with a defeated expression and sat down beside Scorpius.

"Well, you gave it a try," Scorpius consoled him, "If your dad asks, I'll testify that you did your best."

After dinner, the Slytherin second years met in the library to try and sort out their magical history test. There was a serious want for continuity in Professor Binn's ramblings and they were all desperately confused about what they were supposed to be studying and what would be on the test. It was quite late when the librarian kicked them out and sent them down to their common room. The second year boys relocated there and collapsed on the sofa in front of the fire to discuss their team's Quidditch strategy for the year. Albus and Scorpius were the only second years on the team, but the other three boys felt obliged to support the team by offering their expert advice and constructive criticism. The portrait of Severus Snape that hung above the mantle stared at them dispassionately as they talked.

They talked so long that Octavian Bell stuck his head from behind the door of his private room and demanded that they go to bed. The boys rose begrudgingly and proceeded to head down the spiral staircase to the second-to-bottom landing. Just as they were saying good night and separating into their adjoining rooms, Jesse shushed them all and cried, "What's that sound?" The four other boys listened carefully and could make out a faint and unpleasant moaning from the landing below them. The five boys continued down the steps and around the turn they found the Irvin twins collapsed on the floor. The older boys rushed down and tried to revive them. Maynard gave no response and Oscar continued to moan in pain. Both their eyelids were heavily swollen and their skin seemed to have taken on a blueish color. Malcolm reached to feel for a pulse on Maynard but Scorpius stopped him.

"Don't touch him!" he cautioned, "He's been cursed!"

"I'll get the nurse!" Donner told them and he raced up the stairs.

"And I'll get Schlegel," volunteered Jesse. The three remaining second years tried their best to comfort the twins without touching them. Suddenly, Scorpius cried out, "The other first years! Are they cursed as well?" Albus turned and banged on the door of one of the first year rooms with his fist. Scorpius did the same on the other. The doors opened and the other first years emerged in various states of getting ready for bed. Virgil Bumgarner, who was the twins' room mate, looked as though he'd already been asleep. His eyes were sleepy and there was a pillow crease across his right cheek. Cullen, Fisk, Zipf, and Wright piled out of the other room, looking quite shocked to find their classmates dying in the middle of the landing.

Professor Schlegel arrived frantically at the bottom of the stairs, followed by the two prefects and the nurse.

"What happened?" he demanded furiously, "Who cursed them?" All the boys shook their heads.

"We found them here just now, Professor," Scorpius informed him, "We could hear them groaning from upstairs. And all the other first years were in their rooms."

"Whitney, help me get these boys up to the hospital wing," Schelgel directed the female prefect, "Bell, see if you can get the first years to tell you what happened." Bell and Whitney nodded their agreement.

"All of you back to your rooms, now!" Schlegel thundered and the second year boys made their way upstairs. The commotion was causing curious heads to stick out of the doors above them.

"What's going on?" a third year asked them, peeking around the turn.

"The first year twins were cursed!" Scorpius informed them in an urgent tone, "It looks really bad!" The third year's eyebrows raised in concern.

"Who did it? Do they know yet?" he demanded in earnest.

"Are they dead?" Jesse and Donner interrupted in unison as they came crashing down the stairs, completely out of breath.

"Is who dead?" called a rubbernecker from the landing above.

"Some first years!" the third year called back up to him.

"The first years are dead?" another voice asked and there was a sound of several more doors opening and several more voices spilling into the stairwell and inquiring about who was dead and how.

"All of you go back to bed or you're all dead!" bellowed Schlegel as he tried to make his way quickly through the mob of gawkers, levitating Maynard Irvin above their heads. Albus and Scorpius ducked into their room and locked the door behind them.

"Could it have been Wright?" Albus asked anxiously, giving voice to both their suspicions.

"How?" Scorpius asked, "He doesn't know any spells yet and that was a powerful curse!"

"Did you ever see a curse like that?" Albus asked him and Scoprius shook his head gravely.

"Not in real life, anyway. My grandfather's told me some stories though. I don't believe Wright could have learned a curse like that in the last four weeks."

"Then, who do you think did it?" Albus asked. Scorpius shrugged his shoulders. He didn't have a clue.


	17. The Spellbinder

Nearly a month had gone by since the night the Slytherins had found two of their own nearly lifeless in the stairwell. The Irvins had been rushed to the hospital wing and though the nurse and the teachers tried their best to discover what was ailing them, the best they could determine was that it was a dangerous curse of some kind. They were forced to send the boys to St. Mungo's Hospital where the Healers had managed to keep them alive for several weeks, but had not yet discovered how to cure them. Schlegel and the Headmistress had tried several times to interrogate the students in Slytherin but they couldn't figure out who the culprit was, though several of the students made wild accusations against each other. Albus and Scorpius found it unusual that Wright didn't even seem to be a suspect. The teachers seemed to follow Scorpius' frame of logic that Wright didn't know enough magic to cast such a powerful spell.

As the weeks stretched on and on without word of what spell had been used to nearly kill their schoolmates, a rumor began circulating amongst the students that the spell must have been cast by a Binder.

"Do you think that's true?" Albus had asked Scorpius when they over-heard other boys talking about it in the common room. Scorpius seemed to think it over.

"It's certainly possible…and that would explain why even the Healers can't figure out what spell it is."

"But then it really _could_ be Wright!" Albus pointed out, "If he was the binder, then it wouldn't matter that he hadn't learned many spells, because it was _his_ spell!" Scorpius seemed quite unconvinced.

"I'm pretty sure Binders have to know more about magic than Wright does."

"That's not what your grandfather said," Albus argued, "Remember? He said that Binders didn't have any control over what spells came to them. So, if Wright was the Binder, he easily could have bound the spell that was put on the twins."

"Maybe…" Scorpius said after a moment's thought, but Albus could tell his friend thought it a pretty farfetched notion.

Later that evening, while Scorpius was diligently perfecting his homework in the library, Albus came up with an idea to test his theory. He climbed up the dormitory steps to the common room, which he was pleased to find empty. His first year, he hadn't really liked being in the common room by himself. It was decorated with savage-looking serpents and various distorted skulls, many of which looked human. During the day, a strange greenish-light came from the ceiling, but at night the even the light from the lamps and the fireplace seemed to disappear into the blackness above and it gave Albus the creepy impression that he was standing directly underneath a bottomless pit. Since then, he'd managed to get used to the common room and he hardly gave the contorted faces of the skulls a second look. Tonight the only sign of life in the room was the glowing cinders in the fireplace and the sporadic movement of the deceased Potions master turning a page in his book in the portrait above.

"Good evening, Professor Snape," Albus spoke to him. Snape lifted his eyes from the book and looked at Albus expectantly.

"How come you're always reading that same book?" Albus asked him. Snape's soulless eyes stared at Albus and for a moment Albus didn't think he would respond.

"I was painted holding it," he explained in an even tone. Albus approached the portrait and cleared a layer of dust off the little plaque that gave his name and dates.

"Why, you're dead twenty years!" Albus exclaimed, "Haven't you finished it yet?" Snape's eyes narrowed at his impertinence and he didn't respond.

"What's it about, anyway? I sure hope it's interesting!" Snape closed the book and set it on his lap.

"Actually, Potter, most of the pages are too blurry to read."

"Well, then why are you always looking at it?" Albus asked.

"Occasionally, words do appear for me." Albus felt a little sad for the portrait, having nothing to do all the time but sit and stare at a book in hope that some legible words would appear that day. No wonder he was always cranky.

"What sort of words are they?" Albus asked him. Snape gave a little snort and didn't reply to the question.

"Is there something you wanted, Potter?" Snape demanded.

"Lucius Malfoy said that you were a Binder," Albus told him, "Is that true." Snape was clearly displeased with the question.

"It is."

"I was wondering how a Binder binds spells." Snape examined him with suspicion.

"Do you believe yourself to be a Binder?" Snape asked him.

"No," replied Albus, "But I was wondering if Wright could be one." Understanding came into Snape's expression and he said, "You believe Wright cast the curse that nearly killed the Irvin boys." Albus felt a little embarrassed that Snape could read his mind so readily.

"I think he might be."

"Why, exactly, do you accuse Wright?" Albus hesitated.

"Well, he's already proved himself to be pretty violent and it did happen the very night he was allowed back into the dorm."

"Those facts are both highly circumstantial evidence," Snape pointed out, "Have you ever seen or heard of Wright casting a competent curse?"

"Well, no," Albus admitted.

"It is my understanding that Wright has proved a consistent failure in his Charms and Transfiguration lessons." Albus shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't really know how he does in classes. But when my dad arrested him at Malfoy Manor, he said that Wright injured the auror Quincy with a powerful wandless spell!" Snape shook his head.

"Don't be a fool, boy!" he said harshly, "There's a good deal of difference between a burst of wandless magic from a frightened child and a properly performed curse!" Albus looked down sheepishly. Snape was making sense.

"In any event, it is highly unlikely that someone whose magical skills are as uncontrollable as Wright's are would be able to bind spells. Spellbinding is a very rare talent in the first place, and the person must have considerable experience properly casting a wide variety of spells before they are able to bind their own."

"Unlikely, but not impossible," Albus pointed out.

"Extremely unlikely," Snape clarified, "But no, not impossible. There have been instances of very young children being able to bind spells, but keep in mind that these were child prodigies who were also able to do all kinds of magic, miraculous for their age. But seeing as Wright is still working on mastering simple levitation and very basic transfigurations, he is most certainly not among their number."

"How old were you, Professor?" Albus asked him, "When you bound your first spell?" Snape's eyes narrowed. He didn't seem to like to speak of himself.

"I was about your age," he admitted finally.

"How did you learn to do it?" Albus asked in an amazed tone.

"I'd fallen asleep while studying for an exam in the library. I'd been up all night, furious about a feud I was having with some other students. I dozed off and I dreamed I was sitting in my desk in the classroom. The students I hated were all there too. The dream world was complete silence, but I could see in their expressions they were laughing at me and taunting me. All I could think of was how much I hated them and how much I wanted justice against them. In the dream, I opened the book that was sitting on the desk in front of me and the incantation for the spell was written inside." Snape stopped.

"Then what happened," Albus asked eagerly.

"Obviously, I woke up and I wrote the incantation down in my potions book so I wouldn't forget it."

"What did the spell do?"

"It was a curse," Snape answered simply.

"What kind of curse?" Albus persisted. Snape looked down at his book and didn't answer. Albus had a strong feeling he wasn't going to either.

"Did you use it on the other boys." Snape shook his head.

"Did you ever use it?" Snape gave no response. Albus continued to fish for more information.

"Did you happen to use it in a duel when Lucius Malfoy was with you?" Snape cocked his head in surprise.

"I find it very curious you should ask that, Potter," he said with a tinge of anger in his tone, "What exactly has my old friend Lucius been telling you?"

"He told us that you threatened him with death if he ever told anyone about the spell you used in that duel."

"Did he give you the incantation?" Snape demanded, almost fearfully.

"No," Albus assured him, "I believe he kept his promise never to tell anyone about it." Snape sat back in his chair and seemed very much relieved to hear it.

"Was that curse the first spell you bound?" Albus asked him again.

"No. It wasn't. I never used that first spell. It was a terribly deadly curse. However, it was foolish of me to write it down where someone else could find it and use it."

"Did they?" Albus asked in fascination. Snape nodded.

"Who was it? Was anyone killed?" Snape's expression had become very icy.

"It was your father and no, but very nearly."

"My father?" Albus exclaimed, "I don't believe it! My dad isn't a killer!"

"No, but he is somewhat of an idiot. Though I expect it only took that one incident to teach him not to attempt to use a curse when he doesn't know where it came from or what it's effect will be!"

"I'm not very fond of you calling my dad names! He's a great wizard!" Albus defended in outrage. Snape sighed in exasperation.

"I don't care what you're fond of, Potter," he retorted snidely, "You asked me a question and I answered it. If you don't like the answer, by all means, go and interview some warmer and fluffier piece of art!" Albus gave him a dirty look.

"Who did he curse?" Albus demanded.

"Draco Malfoy." Albus' jaw fell open.

"Scorpius' dad?" he asked incredulously, "Why?" Snape raised both arms in an attitude of complete exasperation.

"I couldn't begin to guess, Potter. They were going on six years of unbroken contempt. Perhaps Malfoy made disparaging remarks about his favorite hat. Perhaps he smelt unpleasant. Maybe he'd given him one too many dirty looks or called his girlfriend 'ugly'. I doubt if either of them could even recall what specific insult catalyzed this squabble, that duel, or the other fist fight. It started from the moment they first set eyes on each other and continued until after they both left school!" Albus' head was spinning. He knew Snape wasn't lying, but it was quite difficult for him to believe that his good-natured father could have been in a six-year war with another student, particularly when that other student was his own best friend's father.

"How did my dad counter-act the curse?" Albus asked after a long pause.

"He didn't. I did," Snape replied, "Fortunately for Malfoy, I was close enough to hear the tell-tale sounds of a bathroom being turned into a war zone and I stopped the curse before it killed him. Frankly, it was also fortunate for your father, because he didn't have to become a murderer at sixteen years of age."

"Why hasn't my dad or Mr. Malfoy ever said anything about this?" Albus wondered aloud, "I mean, I knew they were enemies, but I always assumed that was because my dad was in the Order of the Phoenix and the Malfoys were Deatheaters. This is completely different." A sudden realization occurred to Albus. Perhaps this was the reason why his father was so set on he and Scorpius making friends with Wright; he didn't want his son's school years to be a repeat of the six-year battle in which he'd been engaged. Albus glanced up again at the Professor's portrait. His dark eyes were fixed on some point in space. Albus longed to ask him more questions, but he knew he'd already been pushing his luck. He also had to admit to himself that he wasn't really ready to hear the answers if they were what he thought they might be.

"Good night, Professor," Albus said, shattering the silence. Snape nodded curtly and buried his hooked nose back into his peculiar book.


	18. Encountering Jeremy Wright

It had been over two weeks since Albus' interview with Snape and though no headway had been made in figuring out what spell had been cast on the Irvins or who had cast it, at least the culprit had not struck again. Slytherin's Quidditch team was 2-1. The Gryffindor team had beaten them in the last game by only one goal's worth of points. James, highly motivated by his loathing for Scorpius, had managed to scrape up the snitch when it was only a few feet from Scoprius' grasp by crashing into his broomstick and knocking him out of the way. The Slytherins were sorely disappointed about losing the match after such a heavy lead and had given Scorpius no end of trouble about it, despite the fact that he had flown brilliantly in all three matches and in the match against Hufflepuff, he'd come up with the snitch before a single goal had been scored!

To add to his woes, Professor Longbottom still seemed to think he was up to no good. Scorpius had ceased trying to impress him with the brown-nosing and attempting perfect behavior. It didn't seem to be getting him anywhere with Professor Longbottom. Instead, he did his best to conduct himself in formal silence. He didn't speak unless spoken to and was careful to end each obligatory statement with 'sir'. He asked no questions and never raised his hand to answer a question. He took extra care not to laugh, smile, or give any impression that he was enjoying himself. Oddly enough, this seemed to be exactly what his teacher wanted from him as he'd stopped assigning detentions and taking off house points.

Albus had noticed his friend's misery in Herbology and felt very bad for him. He couldn't understand why he couldn't get on with Professor Longbottom. It was particularly embarrassing for Scorpius because their Herbology teacher was always so pleasant to everyone else and most of the other students considered Herbology one of their favorite classes. If it had been Professor Schlegel who got after Scorpius, it wouldn't have been so bad since he was miserable toward everyone. It was all a mystery to Albus, who couldn't comprehend what about Scorpius their teacher found so distasteful.

In the meantime, Albus hadn't had anymore success breaking down the wall with Jeremy Wright then Scorpius had accomplished with Professor Longbottom. He'd approached him several times with enthusiastic greetings and had even invited him to sit with his friends at mealtimes. Wright seemed to find his advances decidedly bizarre and refused to speak with him.

Late one night, Albus crept up the stairs to the common room, hoping to catch sight of Snape's portrait and engage him in conversation. He was disappointed to find the frame empty, but he reasoned that the professor might return soon. He settled himself on the large green sofa before the fireplace and waited until the warmth of the fire caused him to doze off. He was startled out of his nap a short while later, by the sound of the portal opening and the stern voice of his head of house walking Jeremy Wright back from a detention. Albus knew he'd lose points for being out of his dorm room so late, so he hunched down quickly in hopes that Schlegel wouldn't see him sitting there.

Albus overheard Schlegel grumbling a 'good-night' to Wright and the sound of the door to his chambers being slammed shut. Albus peeked his head over the back of the couch and whispered, "Hello, Jeremy!" Wright spun around and yanked out his wand fiercely.

"What the…." He caught sight of Albus, perched on the back of the sofa. Wright rolled his eyes angrily and re-pocketed his wand.

"What do you want, Potter?" he demanded.

"Nothing at all," he responded, "I was just saying 'hello'." Wright's eyes narrowed and he glared at him suspiciously.

"Hello," he muttered in return and he proceeded toward the staircase.

"Are you getting used to wizarding school?" Albus called after him, trying not to be too loud.

"What is your problem?" Wright demanded, spinning around and fixing his glare on Albus, "Can't you tell that I don't want to talk to you?" Albus sunk down into the couch sheepishly.

"I just thought…we got off to a bad start…and maybe I could help you fit in."

"Why?" he demanded, "Did the headmistress put you up to it?"

"No," Albus answered truthfully. Wright crossed his arms.

"I don't believe you."

"It was my dad's idea actually," Albus admitted, "He's an orphan too and he says…"

"I'm not an orphan!" Wright snarled, drawing his wand again and pointing it at Albus.

"All right, all right…I'm sorry," Albus apologized, raising his hands submissively. Wright sneered at him, "You don't know anything, Potter!" His wand hand was trembling slightly and Albus thought he looked as though he might cry.

"Don't be angry, Jeremy," Albus tried again, "You're right. I don't know anything about you. But that's only because you never say anything."

"And that's because it's none of your business!" Wright retorted. Albus sighed in frustration.

"You know what! That's fine! I tried to be nice, but you apparently prefer to spend the next six and a half years in a dormitory full of people who all hate you! That is, _if_ you manage to make it that far before they expel you for good! Good luck with that, mate!" Albus stood up sharply and made to push past him and head downstairs, but Wright flicked his wand furiously toward Albus and a beam of violet light shot out. The curse missed Albus and hit the sofa behind him, igniting the worn upholstery with purple flames and filling the common room with a horrible stench.

"What's going on in here!" Schlegel bellowed, bursting into the room. He howled in rage at the sight of the smoldering sofa cushions and whipped out his wand to extinguish the flames.

"Explain yourselves, you two!" their teacher demanded once the fire was out.

"Wright was trying to do magic again," Albus began with a tone of heavy sarcasm. Schlegel took a step forward and wrenched the wand from Wright's fist. Wright grabbed at his arm frantically, trying to get his wand back.

"You, my boy, have exhausted my capacity for patience!" Schlegel informed him as he pulled his arms free and began dragging Wright, kicking and squirming across the common room where he banged on the prefect's door with his fist.

"Bell!" he hollered, "Get out here!" Bell appeared in the doorway and Schlegel gave Wright an unceremonious shove in his direction.

"Take this scamp up to the seclusion room, will you?" he ordered.

"Give me back my wand!" Wright screamed.

"You'll have it back when you can act like a wizard!" Schlegel told him, "Until then it stays locked in my office!" Bell grabbed Wright by the shoulder and guided him through the portal. Albus stepped backward toward the stairwell as quietly as he could.

"That's ten points, Potter, for being out of bed!" Schlegel told him, without turning round. Albus grimaced.

"Yes, Professor," he responded.

"Get yourself to bed!" Albus scrambled to obey.

The next morning, Albus shared the adventure with his housemates over breakfast.

"Well, easy come, easy go, I guess," Donner stated.

"What a nutter!' added Malcolm.

"I can't believe you've lost another ten points, Potter," Jesse groaned, "At this rate, we'll never see ice cream again!"

"Hey, yeah!" Donner growled in sudden anger, "We ought to beat him up when we get back to our rooms!"

"Oh, here!" Scorpius cried in exasperation, and he flung the open carton of chocolate frogs he'd received in the post that morning at them, "Pig out, will you!" The three of them shared an eager expression of glee and executed a well-coordinated attack on Scorpius' care package. The Slytherin girls gazed upon the carnage with unmasked revulsion.

After breakfast, the second years headed off to potion's class. Albus wasn't at all looking forward to it as he could wager that Professor Schlegel would not be in a good mood following the previous nights' events. Schlegel hated taking points off his own house and when he had to do it, he was very hard on the Slytherins responsible. Albus wouldn't have won the bet though. Schlegel wasn't in a sour mood, in fact, he wasn't there at all. Professor Bannes, the former head of Gryffindor House had taken his place.

"Not that we aren't pleased to see you, Professor," Scoprius told her, "But where is Professor Schlegel?"

"In the hospital wing," she explained.

"Has he gotten sick?" asked Rose sympathetically.

"Not exactly," was Bannes' cryptic reply.

"Is he going to be alright?" Albus asked, feeling a twinge of guilt at how happy he'd been to see his former teacher behind Schlegel's desk. Professor Bannes' face fell.

"I'm sure he'll be absolutely fine," she assured them in a tone that was far too flat and highly lacking in sincerity. Albus and Scorpius exchanged worried glances.

Once outside the classroom, they made their way through the busy halls. A fifth year Slytherin ran up to them and demanded, "Have you heard the news?"

"What?" they chorused in alarm.

"Schlegel's been cursed!" Albus and Scorpius looked at each other in surprise.

"What kind of curse?" Albus asked just as Scorpius demanded, "Cursed by who?"

"They don't know who, yet!" the fifth year explained, "And it looks like the same one that was used on the Irvins!" Then, without even saying good-bye, he continued on down the hall to tell the other Slytherins he encountered.

"Well, now we know that the binder has to be Wright!" Scorpius commented after a moment's contemplation, "He must have been furious about last night and cursed Schlegel to get even!"

"You mean now we know for sure that the binder couldn't have been Wright," Albus corrected. Scorpius looked confused and Albus reminded him.

"Schlegel took Wright's wand last night."


	19. Prior Incantato

"_I still say the binder is Wright," Scoprius declared loudly as they made their way into the great hall for lunch. _

"_And how exactly do your reckon he managed to cast this curse without his wand?" Albus demanded._

"_People can do wandless magic. Muggleborns do it all the time!" Scorpius insisted. _

"_Not full-blown, complicated curses like that one!" Albus argued. _

"_How do you know?" Scorpius asked him. Albus shrugged his shoulders. _

"_Well, that's what Snape said. And he also said that Wright can't be the binder because a binder has to develop their casting technique before they can bind spells." Scoprius paused thoughtfully. _

"_Aw, what does he know?" He tugged on Albus' robe and led him off toward the Gryffindor table. "Come on, Al. We'll let your cousin, Dursley, settle this. He's a muggleborn, after all." _

_They found Buddy sitting with Rose and Freddy, enjoying lunch. _

"_Hey Al," he greeted jovially, "How's it going?" _

"_Well…Let's not get into that right now. Scorpius wanted to ask you something." The three Gryffindors eyes Scorpius with suspicion. Scorpius began, "Dursley, before you knew you were a wizard, could you do any dangerous curses that made people deathly ill?" Buddy looked down guiltily. _

"_Yeah…but I didn't do them on purpose." _

"_Buddy would never intentionally hurt someone! Why don't you mind your own business?" Rose chastised him harshley, her face scrunched in disapproval. Scoprius rolled his eyes. _

"_I'm not accusing him, Weasley, I'm just trying to find out if muggleborns can do complex wandless curses or not." _

"_Oh," Buddy sighed, looking quite relieved, "Well, once I gave some kids who were calling me names because I'm so big a really horrible rash. And last Christmas I sent my grandfather into anaphylactic shock when he was screaming and being a jerk and embarrassing our family." Scorpius furrowed his brow. _

"_What's anaflagtig shock?" he asked. _

"_He swull up like a balloon and his throat nearly closed," Buddy explained, "It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so terrifying." Scorpius narrowed his eyes and looked at Albus. _

"_That sounds pretty complex to me. I can't even pronounce it!" Albus seemed to reconsider these facts._

"_But Buddy, when you did that, you didn't do it on purpose, right?" _

"_Of course not!" Buddy insisted earnestly. _

"_Do you think you could do it again…I mean on purpose this time?" Buddy considered the question._

"_No, I don't think so. I mean, I wouldn't want to anyway. I know loads of better spells now, spells I can control. That magic just came out of me and I couldn't stop it." _

"_Well, that certainly sounds consistent with every spell we've ever seen Wright attempt," Albus pointed out, "But the curse on Schlegel and the Irvins was performed the same exact way, three times! And it's hung on to the Irvins for well over a month now. That's a much more complex spell than what Buddy did. It'd almost have_ to be done with a wand."

"I agree," Rose told him, "Only a more experienced wizard could have performed such a curse wandlessly."

"Well, maybe Wright cast the curse before Schlegel took his wand away," Scorpius suggested, "You said he'd just come out of detention with him. Maybe he did the curse there, without Schlegel noticing it." Albus hadn't considered that possibility.

"Wait a minute!" Freddy interrupted, "Are you thinking that Jeremy Wright cursed those people?" The two of them nodded grimly and Freddy nearly turned over his bench laughing.

"That kid had two dozen tangerines to try to levitate yesterday morning in charms class and he blew up every blessed one! I'm gonna be combing the pulp out of my hair for weeks! There's _no way_ he cast those curses, with or without a wand!" Albus raised his eyebrows at Scorpius, who still seemed unconvinced.

"Where is his wand now?" Rose asked them.

"I guess it's still in Schlegel's office," Albus told her.

"Well, there is one way you can tell for sure if Wright performed the curse with his wand…"

"Mr. Malfoy!" interrupted the voice of Professor Longbottom and the two of them spun around to find their Herbology teacher standing behind them, arms folded crossly.

"Go sit at your own table immediately!"

Scorpius opened his mouth wide to protest and point out that Albus was standing right next to him but Albus gave his shin a swift kick and excused them both before dragging him back toward the Slytherin table.

"That's so unfair!" Scorpius whined as they sat down.

"We _were_ out of our seats without permission," Albus justified.

"Exactly…_We_ were out of our seats."

"He probably went easier on me because I was talking to my cousins."

"Went easier on you?" Scorpius cried and Albus elbowed and shushed him. "He didn't even say a word to you!" Scorpius hissed in a slightly more subdued voice.

"I know, I know!" Albus replied, "Look, let's just finish our lunch and get to our next class. Maybe we can catch Rose there and she can tell us how we can prove it was Wright. We can worry about Professor Longbottom later." Scorpius stabbed his chicken brutally with a fork.

"You mean, I can worry about him," he corrected disdainfully.

"No, I mean we can," Albus assured him, "You're my friend and I intend to help you."

"How?" Scorpius asked, his voice a little hopeful.

"I'm not sure yet," Albus admitted, "But I'm going to."

After lunch, the Slytherins had Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology class. They had Magical Creatures with Hufflepuff so they didn't get the chance to talk to Rose. Hagrid met them with the broad, warm smile that was his custom near the base of the owlery. He guided the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs into the tower and about halfway up, he stopped before a round door that looked as though it was designed for an elf's use. As the students watched, he pulled from his pocket an enormous ring of keys and began searching among them for the correct one. How he could keep them straight, Albus couldn't guess as he had literally dozens of them. Finally, he seemed satisfied with a large silver key that seemed impossibly big for such a small door. He stuck it into the keyhole and opened the curious hatch, reaching inside and pulling out a strange-looking creature with enormous eyes, white and black stripes on his face like that of a badger, leathery wings, and long, monkeyish limbs. Hagrid held the snoozing creature up-side-down by a long, black, curling tail and Albus was reminded of an opossum. Scorpius thought it looked like either a very small spider monkey or a frightfully large bat. The students' overwhelming reaction was optimistic. So far that term, it was the first creature Hagrid had introduced them to that didn't look like it could kill someone at any given moment. Several of the girls even cooed over how cute it was.

"This here is called a Ruby Snorwhilm," Hagrid introduced and the students all admired it as it purred softly.

"Why's it called a ruby snorwhilm?" one student asked, "It hasn't got any red on it."

"Well, yeh see, their eggs er quite valuable ter goblins on accoun' a ev'ry batch o' 'em has at least one egg with a snorwhilm ruby inside!" Hagrid explained.

"A ruby inside an egg?" Albus asked incredulously.

"Yes sir, Al! An not jus' any ruby! A ruby from one o' these beauty's eggs is worth a whole mess o' wizardin' gold! If yeh use it on a weapon jus' right, it'll give the weapon all kin' o' special powers! Course only goblins know how ter do that!"

The students spent the remainder of the class, listening to Hagrid explain how to care for one's snorwhilm properly. At the end of class, the students were allowed to pet the sleeping creature before descending the stairwell. Albus and Scorpius were the last to go. When Scorpius reached out to touch the creature, it woke up with a frenzied shake and upon spying Scorpiu,s took a bite out of his shoulder.

"Ahh!" Scorpius cried in pain, prying the creature from his shoulder, "Can this day get any worse?" Hagrid collected his snorwhilm from Scorpius' and scolding it gently, returned it to its cot.

"Are yeh alright there, Malfoy?" Hagrid asked anxiously. Scorpius saw an opportunity and he moaned in pain.

"Ohh!" he cried, grasping at his arm dramatically, "It hurts so much! I'd best go to the hospital wing and get it looked at! Albus, do tell Professor Longbottom how sorry I am to have missed my Herbology lesson!" Hagrid raised his eyebrows skeptically.

"Yeh certainly have inherited yer father's dramatic flair, Malfoy," he said cooly. Scorpius' eyes narrowed and his phony grimace of pain transformed into a pout.

"Look how red it is! It might be infected!" he whined pitifully.

"Yeh'll be fine," Hagrid assured him, "Now, off yeh go, the both o' yeh!"

"What was that about?" Albus laughed at him as they headed out into the daylight. Scorpius shrugged.

"It was worth a shot!"

After Herbology class, Rose pulled them aside and told them about Prior Incantato, the charm that reveals the last spell a wand was used to cast. The boys grinned enthusiastically.

"That's perfect!" Scorpius exclaimed, "Do you know how to do it?"

"Well, I read about it," Rose explained, "But I've never attempted to cast it before."

"You can try it on Wright's wand tomorrow," Albus told her with cheerful optimism.

"How are we supposed to get it?" Scorpius asked skeptically.

"Schlegel said he was going to put it in his office," explained Albus, "We can sneak in tomorrow during potions lab."

"How are we supposed to do that without Professor Bannes seeing?" Rose asked him, "We don't know where Schlegel hid it and it could take the whole hour for us to find it!"

"It won't take but a moment!" Scorpius assured her, "I have a retrieval-compass in my room that was my great-great grandfather's. It will tell us exactly where the wand is hidden!"

"Oh, I wish my dad had given me back his old invisibility cloak!" Albus groaned, "One of us will just have to wait for the right opportunity and sneak in there without Bannes seeing." The three agreed on the plan and separated to their own common rooms.

The next morning they put their plan into action during potions lab. Professor Bannes was overseeing the students' production of a certain antidote and to their dismay, she spent nearly the entire lesson standing directly in between the students and the open door to Schlegel's office. At one point, when she was looking the other way, Albus ducked down and attempted to sneak around back of her.

"The venom of the Laxymoth can be condensed into an extremely versatile serum that can be used in several forms of…Potter, what in heaven's name are you doing?" Albus looked up at his teacher, red-faced.

"I…er…I was just…looking for…I've lost my…"

"Your mind?" she suggested crossly.

"I'll…uhm…I'll look for it later then," he finished sheepishly amid the chuckles of his classmates.

Bannes continued to stand in the center of the classroom, arms crossed, for a good bit of the class. Albus and Scoprius were becoming worried that they would run out of time before getting the chance to look for Wright's wand. Finally, when one of the Gryffindor partnerships scorched their essence of Laxymoth venom, she drifted to their table, leaving Albus a clear path.

"Go!" Scorpius hissed at him, stuffing the compass in his hand and Albus rose and shuffled quickly and discretely into the office. Once inside, he took a quick look around at shelves upon shelves of bottles and vials of strange-looking specimens and fragments of plant matter and animal tissue. Behind Schlegel's desk, was what looked like an enormous post office desk, with at least fifty little cubbies on the top and an equal number of tiny drawers. Albus pulled out Scorpius' grandfathers' compass and whispered, "I'm looking for Wright's wand!" The little needle quivered rapidly then spun around to direct him toward the desk. Albus gulped. They'd lost a lot of time waiting for the right opportunity to sneak in. He'd never be able to search that whole desk before the class let out! Fortunately, he didn't have to. As he approached the desk, the metal in his hand became suddenly frigid. Albus lowered it toward the drawers and it became a little warmer. Albus waved the compass slowly from side to side and it glowed red and warm as he went to the right. He opened the drawer before his hand when the compass burned so hot he had to drop it with a clunk onto Schlegel's gradebook. Inside the drawer was Wright's wand. He lifted the compass by the chain and stuck it into his robe pocket. Then he took the wand and crept to the office door, hunching down low and peering into the classroom. Professor Bannes had once again insinuated herself between him and his table. Albus caught his friends' glances and raised the wand for them to see. Both their eyes lit with excitement and Albus looked at them questioningly. How was he supposed to get back to his cauldron before Bannes noticed he was out of his seat?

"Do something!" Rose mouthed at Scorpius from the next table over.

Scorpius shrugged.

"What?" he mouthed back. Rose glanced over at Professor Bannes, who was answering one of her housemate's questions.

"Cause a distraction!" She hissed at him.

"How?" he asked her. Suddenly, he felt a painful thump on his shoulder.

"Can it, Malfoy, before you lose us more points!" Donner ordered. Scorpius turned round and glared at him, rubbing his shoulder.

"Oww!" he moaned softly, "That's right where Hagrid's horrible monkey-bat…" Suddenly, he got an idea.

"Yeeeaaaaooow!" he wailed. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Bannes scolded, "What is the meaning of this?" Scorpius adopted his most horrified attitude and clasping his shoulder with one hand, he pointed at Rose.

"Rose Weasley bit me, Professor!" Rose's eyes went wide and her mouth hung open.

"I most certainly did not!" she stated in outrage.

"Eugh!" cried Malcolm in fascination, "Let me see!" Scorpius showed him the bite mark on his shoulder.

"Eugh!" Malcolm cried again, even louder, "She did! She did bite him!"

"What a strange thing to do!" commented one of the Gryffindors.

"He probably deserved it," said another unsympathetically.

"I'll bet she's a werewolf!" Donner taunted Scorpius, "Now you're a werewolf too!" He barred his teeth in a snarl and then emitted a dramatic howl. The Slytherin girls squealed unhappily and moved away from Scorpius as if to prevent infection.

"I'm not a werewolf!" Rose said indignantly, stamping her foot on the stone floor.

"You better not be!" Scorpius warned her, trying very hard not to smile.

"No, she's a vampire!" offered one of the Slytherin girls hysterically.

"Cut her head off!" Jesse cried menacingly, choosing a scalpel from the equipment box and brandishing it toward Rose. The Gryffindors all cried out in shock and scrambled to draw their wands.

"Everyone calm down immediately!" Professor Bannes bellowed, "Put your wands away and you…put that knife down!" Jesse obeyed reluctantly.

"Now," she began again in a calmer voice, "Miss Weasley, we do not bite!"

"But I…" she protested.

"Not another word! That's five points from Gryffindor and you say you're sorry." Rose folded her arms crossly and muttered, "Smumffumf."

"I don't think she meant it, Professor!" Scorpius goaded. Rose shot him an angry glare.

"I'm sorry, Scorpius," she snapped clearly and mockingly.

"Now, let's get these antidotes finished before the hour is up. Potter, what are you doing over there?" Albus stopped in alarm, still several feet from their table.

"I…er…I was going to get Scorpius some ice for his arm…over there…But then I remembered that's not where we keep ice." He shuffled awkwardly back to the cauldron he was sharing with Scorpius. Professor Bannes squinted from Rose to Albus and back to Rose again. Finally, she rolled her eyes.

"Your brother always says that you are the odd duck in the family, Potter," she told Albus, then she glanced back at Rose, "But if you ask me it's probably too close to call!"


	20. Rose Calls Wright to Account

**_Dear Readers,_**

**_My story is nearly finished! I'm not really happy with this chapter so if you have any advice to make it flow better, please let me know! I'm considering getting rid of the entire last conversation between Albus and Neville. Let me know what you think!_**

**_Thanks!_**

To their dismay, the examination of Jeremy Wright's wand yielded no sign of the curse in question. In fact, the last spell he'd performed was a poorly cast levitation charm. Albus and Rose were almost entirely convinced that Wright couldn't be the binder while Scorpius still seemed to cling to the far-fetched notion that he'd developed superior wandless magic skills while still managing to consistently fail at casting spells with his wand.

Then, the three of them were left with the problem of what to do with the stolen wand. Albus and Scorpius knew that Wright was after the teachers to get him back his wand, but with Schlegel at St. Mungo's, the other teachers didn't know where it was and it certainly wasn't their top priority to get the thing back into Wright's incompetent hands. Still, Albus and Scorpius knew it wouldn't be long before its absence from Professor Schlegel's desk was noticed. Finally, Scorpius decided to unload the wand in a manner consistent with his Malfoy reputation of cowardly indifference. He abandoned it in the Slytherin boys' bathroom sink.

"That's incredibly irresponsible!" Rose chastised the both of them. Scorpius shrugged.

"What's the worse that could happen? It's not like a muggle's going to come tripping along and find it there!"

What ended up happening was that one of the other boys found it and handed it over to the prefect. The prefect determined its owner and they all got to sit in the Slytherin common room while Octavian Bell and Jasmine Whitney gave them the lecture on wand safety and how no wizard ever leaves their wand lying about, the legal ramifications of losing one's wand, and that if Professor Schlegel had been there to find out about it, they would have surely lost house points. It was a long and deadly dull meeting, but at least the matter of Wright's wand was resolved.

Several weeks went by and it was nearly mid-term. Professor Schlegel and the Irwin twins continued to be treated but not cured at St. Mungo's and the mysterious binder again fell silent. The Slytherins, being a somewhat self-absorbed lot, were not particularly traumatized at the loss of their head of house. A select few of them thought to send him a pleasant card stating their best wishes while most of the others considered his misfortune an advantage, as dessert had been reinstated at the Slytherin table in his absence.

Quidditch practice became increasingly less pleasant as the weather became harsher and harsher, however, the Slytherins were elated as they won both their next two matches despite the lack of their head of house's unique motivational techniques. They were now preparing to play against Gryffindor again and so far, Gryffindor House was the only team to have beat them and only by quite a narrow margin. James had sensed a weakness in his brother's emotional armor and quickly began loading Albus with all manner of heckling and abuse over the upcoming match.

"Dad said in his last letter that he's coming to the game next week!" James reminded him tauntingly, "Wonder which side he's going to be sitting on? I don't think he has any green to wear, do you?" The last thing Albus needed was his brother's goading in regards to that little problem. He had been worrying about what it would be like to play a Quidditch match with his own parents cheering for the other side ever since he'd found out he'd made the Slytherin team. He wasn't looking forward to the experience, but he was determined not to let his nervousness affect his game.

One morning, only a week before the looming midterm exams, the Slytherin second years emerged into the courtyard after breakfast to be greeted by a light dusting of snow. Scorpius groaned.

"As if it isn't bad enough we have Herbology, now we have to trudge through this!" Albus rolled his eyes.

"I happen to like Herbology and it's not so bad. We could use a melting charm," he suggested. Scorpius moaned and gave the thin layer of snow a kick as he headed off sourly, without answering. Albus followed him, feeling equally cross. He couldn't blame Scorpius for not enjoying Herbology, given the circumstances, but that didn't mean he wanted to hear him fuss about it all week. Albus caught up to his friend just as he was passing a group of Gryffindor, second-year girls, Rose Weasley among them. Rose caught sight of them and greeted her cousin cheerfully, chattering away about the content of the upcoming exams. Albus trudged along beside her, letting her carry on, but not really listening.

As they made their way around the side of the castle, toward the greenhouses, Rose's prattling tapered off as she'd noticed her cousin's disinterest and the last strains of her voice seemed to reverberate from the snow-covered landscape with a strange quality. The air was very still and had a distinctive frosty smell to it. The only sound was their crunchy footsteps and as they walked, their breath left their chapped lips in wispy clouds of vapor. The three second-years continued on in silence, Scorpius brooding about the dreaded class ahead of them, Albus tailing behind fractiously, and Rose following curiously and wondering what was going on between the two of them.

Suddenly, they were all alerted to a distressed sound coming from ahead of them. Scorpius paused in concern and glanced behind him. Albus and Rose caught up to him and they hurried along the path toward the greenhouses. The path turned around two large, soft-needled evergreen trees whose branches had conjoined to form somewhat of a hollow, tent-like space underneath. The green, fragrant needles above and the thick blanket of dried needles on the ground provided a shady and comfortable place for the students to rest, particularly on a warm day, but now the outer extremities were frosted with snow and the hollow inside was nearly invisible under the burdened branches. Nonetheless, as they rounded the corner, they caught sight of a flash of color inside and Scorpius pushed his way under the lower branches which snapped back as he passed, flinging snow on Albus and Rose as they tried to follow. Once inside, they caught sight of Sarah Vineyard, the source of the pitiful cries they'd heard. She shook her head emphatically and moaned, "No!" again and again. Wright loomed over her, having backed her up against the trunk of one of the trees, and yanked on her thin arm as if to wrench it from its socket.

"You'll do it or I'll tell everyone!" he threatened in a cruel voice and the tiny girl wailed in fear. Scorpius was reminded of the other little girl he'd witnessed Wright menacing the first time he'd seen him and he was suddenly filled with compassion and rage.

"What are you doing, Wright?" he demanded furiously. Wright's head shot up in surprise. He fixed his glare on the three intruders and his face contorted in a snarl.

"Looky, Vineyard," he taunted her, wrenching her by the arm, "Your boyfriend is here!"

"Let her go!" Rose demanded as she drew her wand. Wright glared at her with hate and defiance, but after a moment, he released Sarah, who collapsed to the soft, needle-covered earth where she scooped up her wand and ducked behind the tree trunk, whimpering and clutching her wand with both hands. Rose began to chastise Wright in frustration.

"Just what exactly do you expect to get from behaving like this?" she demanded fiercely, "You aren't learning how to cast spells competently and you're making anyone who might want to be your friend hate you!"

"Shut up!" he shouted at her as he raised his wand. His face was red with fury and the tip of his wand trembled.

"I won't! You are giving up any chance you have at a future in the wizarding world! You'll be in Azkaban Prison before you even graduate at the rate you are going! Is that what you want?"

"You'll be sorry!" Wright threatened, but Rose was unmoved.

"Come on, Sarah," Albus coaxed her from behind the tree trunk.

"Yeah," Scorpius added, "There's no reason to be afraid of this tosser! He couldn't even cast a fishing line!" Sarah wiped her eyes with her free hand and peeked around the trunk cautiously.

"You stay right there!" Wright hissed at her and she ducked behind the trunk again.

"You don't have to do the least thing he says," Rose assured her confidently, "He can't do anything to you!"

"Shut up!" he repeated, drawing out his wand, "You have no idea what I can do!" Rose lowered her own wand and placed her hands on her hips, unconcerned that she was leaving herself open to attack.

"I'm not afraid of you. I don't believe you can do anything to anyone!" Wright's mouth curled into a snarl and his eyes were brimming with tears and hatred as he aimed his wand hand shakily at Rose. However, after several silent and tense moments, he still hadn't tried to curse her. Rose slowly replaced her wand in her pocket and crossed her arms.

"That's just as I thought!" she declared in an accusatory tone and she turned her back on him disgustedly and began to push her way through the evergreen branches.

"You'll be sorry!" Wright screeched after her, "I'll teach you to get into my business!" Rose's red locks disappeared behind the green branches and she didn't respond to Wright's threat or even turn round.

"Come on, Sarah," Scorpius encouraged her as she shuffled tentatively to her feet and he and Albus turned to follow Rose. Just as they'd emerged from the snow-covered boughs, they heard Sarah's voice cry out and a beam of orange light went past Scorpius's left ear and dissipated as it reached Rose's back. Sarah ran out from the branches, bawling in fear. Rose turned around at the weak impact of the spell and looked very puzzled. Albus, Scorpius, and Sarah stared at her, searching for a sign of the spell's effect.

"Are you alright?" Albus asked in alarm. Rose looked down and examined her own arms and robes, then gave a short laugh.

"That barely tickled, Wright!" she shouted mockingly into the trees and the two boys laughed uneasily. Sarah ran off, up the path toward the school and Wright took off in the opposite direction shooting the three of them another last glare as he went.

"Come on," Rose said sternly, "We'll be late if we don't hurry!" The three of them ran as quickly as they could without slipping on the slick, wet stone and only just made it through the door of the correct greenhouse in time.

Professor Longbottom gave them a humorless look as they slid haphazardly into their places.

"Please close the door, Mr. Malfoy," he instructed firmly, "And _walk!_"

"Yes, Professor Longbottom," he responded in an especially sugary tone and flashed a dazzling smile before practically waltzing to the door. Professor Longbottom's eyes narrowed and he gave Scorpius a warning look, as if to accuse him of insincerity. Scorpius didn't much mind though as he was, in fact, genuinely insincere. Actually, false politeness was the only recourse he had against his teacher's regime of injustice and the just about the only thing that kept him from popping off into a tirade of insults and profanity that would certainly get him expelled, and in some counties, maybe even arrested.

Their teacher set them to work at identifying various types of garden slugs and categorizing them by whether they were beneficial to plants, detrimental to plants, or potentially lethal to people. Albus and Buddy took a jar that contained a single, giant slug with long green tentacles growing out of its back, and went off to the bookshelves to identify it.

"That one's easy," Rose confided to Scorpius, "It's a Highland Flesh-Eating Slug. Let's get a more challenging species." Scorpius examined the remaining jars. He reached out toward one that contained a squirming huddle of pink creatures that looked a bit like maggots, but with a sudden loud squeal, they all sprouted sharp spikes and Scorpius jumped back in alarm.

"Interesting…" Rose commented, leaning in for a closer look, "I wonder if…"

"Let's go with this lot," Scorpius interrupted, selecting a brood of fat, turquoise blobs, resting in a film of purple slime, "They look nice and safe." Rose reluctantly left the jar of spiny slugs and followed Scorpius to the guide book to look up their specimen.

"You picked a good one, Scorpius," Rose informed him happily after only a few moments looking through the books, "They're Cerulean Lunar Slugs!"

"They're from the moon?" Scorpius asked incredulously. Rose looked at him as though he was completely insane.

"Honestly, Scorpius! Nothing lives on the moon!" she scolded him, "It is so named because it comes out during the new moon to feed on the nectar of the Dragonweed blossom. It emits a light glow that attracts the bats that pollinate the plant…It's quite fascinating."

"I respectfully disagree," said Scorpius. Rose rolled her eyes and buried herself in a guide book while Scorpius tried to entertain himself by levitating the deep blue slugs from their home in the jar and depositing them onto Rose's notebook, robe, and forehead.

"That's extremely juvenile, Scorpius," she informed him without looking up from her book.

"Be free, little ones!" he cried mockingly as he used one of the slugs to spell out Rose's name in slime on the table.

"Mr. Malfoy!" Professor Longbottom cautioned him from across the table.

"Sorry, mate!" Scorpius whispered hastily as he deposited the slug back into the jar, "Back to your cold, transparent prison."

"Stop teasing Miss Weasley at once!"

"But I wasn't!" he protested, "She doesn't mind!"

"Actually, I made it pretty clear that I thought it was annoying," she pointed out from behind the spine of her book.

"Ten points from Slytherin," said Professor Longbottom, "And put the rest of those slugs back where they came from!"

"Thanks for backing me up there, Weasley," Scorpius grumbled once Professor Longbottom had gone on to assist other students.

"You told Professor Bannes that I bit you," she reminded him. Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Would you let that go already?"

Once all the students had identified their slugs, Professor Longbottom had them assemble at the planting tables while he explained different pesticides. Scorpius and Rose separated and joined their own houses.

"How was your Highland Flesh-Eating Slug?" Scorpius whispered to Albus. Albus lifted his left hand gloomily to reveal a thick bandage wrapped around his hand.

"Ouch!" Scorpius replied sympathetically.

"Please bring your conversations to an end!" announced Professor Longbottom and he went into his pesticide lecture. It wasn't the most lively of topics and both boys felt their minds wandering after only a few minutes. That is, until Donner tapped Albus in the back with a the tip of his wand and whispered, "Hey, what's with your cousin?" Albus glanced over at the Gryffindor side curiously and immediately recognized what Donner was referring to. Rose, who would normally be found furiously scribbling down every word her teacher said in her notebook, was clearly not paying a bit of attention to the lecture. It seemed her head was bothering her as she kept squinting and blinking her eyes and rubbing gently at her temples. Albus also thought her coloring looked off.

"What's wrong with her?" Scorpius asked him in a whisper and Albus shrugged and watched as Rose's complexion took on a decidedly gray hue and she placed both her palms on the table before her as if to support her weight. Buddy seemed to have notice her discomfort and was looking at her with concern.

"Professor Longbottom?" he called out abruptly, waving his hand in the air.

"Yes, Dursley, what is it?" As if in answer, Rose suddenly collapsed and Buddy was just able to grab her and keep her from hitting the floor.

"Rose!" Albus cried in horror, bolting across the aisle. Scorpius followed him and the rest of the students crowded around them in a circle.

"Rose, what's wrong?" Albus asked her frantically. She shook her head as if to say she didn't know, or perhaps that she could not respond. Professor Longbottom broke through the crowd of students and knelt beside her, examining her urgently for a sign of the cause of her ailment. Meanwhile, Rose's eyes were rolling back in her head and her breathing had become hoarse and labored.

"Did you see what caused this?" Professor Longbottom questioned Buddy, who shook his head vehemently.

"Did she eat or drink anything? Did she touch any of the restricted poisonous herbs?"

"No, sir!" Buddy insisted, "Not since we got back to the tables."

"What's wrong with her, Uncle Neville?" Albus begged him. Their teacher pulled up the sleeves of her robe and examined her arms and hands, then gently pried open her mouth and eyelids. He seemed terribly anxious and perplexed. Finally, he turned to one of the Gryffindors.

"Gordon, run and fetch the nurse, ask her to meet us at the courtyard door!"

"Yes, sir!" Gordon responded and he flew out the door.

"Do you think she's been poisoned, Professor?" Buddy asked him fearfully. Professor Longbottom seemed to be quite unsure. He stood and began scanning the floor around the table, Rose's belongings, and finally his eyes came to rest on Scorpius.

"Malfoy, do you know what might have caused this?" Scorpius stared with fear at Rose, trying desperately to think of where she might have contacted something poisonous.

"I…I wasn't really paying attention…I don't believe she touched anything accept the text books. She didn't even handle the slugs. I did."

"You handled them onto her face," reminded one of the Gryffindors. Scorpius looked down sheepishly.

"That was just a joke! You don't reckon that's what made her ill?" he asked in horror.

"No, Mr. Malfoy," Professor Longbottom assured him, "I'm certain it isn't." Scorpius breathed a sigh of relief.

"Did you happen to play any other jokes?" Professor Longbottom demanded with an edge in his tone.

"What? What do you mean?" Scorpius asked.

"I think you know exactly what I mean. If you know what is happening to Miss Weasley, I suggest you let me know right now."

Scorpius' mouth fell open in outrage as he realized what he was being accused of.

"I didn't do this!" he insisted adamantly, his face going quite red, "I'm friends with Weasley, for pity's sake! Why would I…"

"Malfoy, there isn't time to play around!" Professor Longbottom urged him, "Do you have any idea how much trouble you'll be in if we can't reverse this spell in time?"

"I tell you, I didn't have anything to do with this!" Scorpius bellowed, his pale face now scarlet with rage, "Now, stop wasting time harassing me, you dense earwig, and do something to help her before she dies in the middle of the floor!"

There was a collective gasp and a brief moment's silence as everyone absorbed what had been said. Professor Longbottom's expression was a mixture of fury and fear and he seemed to be beyond speech. Finally he said in a surprisingly calm tone, "Mr. Malfoy, go to the headmistress' office and wait for me there."

"An excellent idea," Scorpius retorted, glaring at his teacher with unadulterated loathing, "Maybe there's a grown-up there who isn't an incompetent jackass and can actually do something to help!" With that he collected his bag and departed furiously, slamming the door so hard that a crack appeared in the glass pane. The other students watched him depart in horror. Professor Longbottom shook his head in disbelief.

"Everyone clear out!" he instructed finally, "Class dismissed." The students left in a silent herd, still reeling from what had transpired.

"Uncle Neville," Albus begged, "Please, can I go with you to the hospital wing?" He nodded in response and he lifted Rose and they both hurried along the slippery, snow-covered path toward the castle, where they met up with the nurse. She took one look at Rose and her face looked panicked.

"Come, let's get her to the hospital wing at once!" she told them and they hurried through the castle. Once in the hospital wing, the nurse took Rose with a levitation charm and disappeared with her into a back room, leaving Albus and Professor Longbottom in her office with a promise that she would let them know as soon as she had a diagnosis. They both sat down in helpless silence to wait. After a long pause, Albus glance over at Uncle Neville. He was staring at the floor, a perturbed expression on his face.

"Is Scorpius going to be in very big trouble, Uncle Neville?" Albus asked hesitantly.

"What?" he asked absent-mindedly, "Oh…Malfoy. Well, it's really up to the headmistress, with his head of house being away."

"But, she'll listen to you, won't she?" Albus persisted.

"Albus!" he responded in exasperation, "Malfoy ought to be the furthest thing from you mind, with Rose in the hospital wing…"

"I'm worried about Rose," Albus assured him, "But I'm worried about Scorpius too!"

"Well, you needn't be. He dug himself into that hole, didn't he?"

"But he's right, Uncle Neville!" Albus argued, then stopped abruptly in embarrassment, "I didn't mean about you being incompetent. I think you're a brilliant teacher!"

"Thank you, Albus," he replied, smiling slightly.

"I just mean that you always seem to be down on him for no good reason. It's obvious that Scorpius would never try to hurt Rose!" His teacher gave him a weary, but genuine smile.

"You know you're just like your dad, Albus," he told him fondly, "You're both good men who always see the good in people." Albus knew it was meant as a compliment, but he took it as deflecting.

"There _is_ good in Scorpius," Albus insisted, "Lots of good!"

"I'm afraid there's a lot your friend, Scorpius has to overcome," Professor Longbottom told him, "There's a lot more to it than you know, Albus."

"I know more than you think, Uncle Neville," Albus argued, "I've been to Scorpius' house before to spend the weekend and I've met his family. I know all about them!" Professor Longbottom's eyes grew about as wide as saucers.

"Your father let you stay the night at Malfoy Manor?" he asked incredulously, "Is he completely mad?" Albus raised his eyebrow.

"You just said he was a good man who always saw the good in people!" Albus complained.

"Those aren't mutually exclusive," he explained.

"And neither is being good and being a Malfoy!" He seemed to consider the wisdom in Albus' statement.

"He certainly didn't show much goodness in class today," he pointed out. Albus raised his hands in exasperation, "Well, there's a limit to everyone's temperament, isn't there? Here you've been hounding him all term with no end to it in sight, and now you've all but accused him of trying to kill his friend! It was only a matter of time before he lost it!" Professor Longbottom suddenly looked very tired.

"Albus…" he began, but he was interrupted by the reemergence of the nurse.

"Is Rose alright?" Albus asked urgently, bouncing to his feet. The nurse's expression was frantic.

"You need to go to dinner, Mr. Potter," she deflected.

"Go to dinner?" he exclaimed in disbelief, "What about my cousin? Do you think I'll just forget about her when I see a roast beef?" She shot him a warning look but Professor Longbottom took his side.

"What's happened to Rose?" he asked gently. At first, she looked as though she didn't want to answer him in front of Albus, but she reluctantly decided to go ahead in the interest of time.

"It's not poison. She's been cursed," she explained, "I'm moving her to St. Mungo's now."

"Cursed? What kind of curse?" Albus demanded.

"We'll know more when we get her to the experts in the hospital," she insisted, "We need to leave immediately."

"Go to dinner, Albus," his teacher urged him, "I need to contact Rose's parents and let them know what's going on."

"But…"

"I promise, Al," he assured him, "I'll talk to you as soon as we get word." Albus nodded and the professor ushered him into the hallway and closed the door. Albus stood there a moment thinking and then slowly began making his way toward the great hall. Then suddenly, he stopped, turned, and ran toward the headmistress' office.


	21. The Head's Office

**_I'm still not happy with the previous chapter. I'm thinking of cutting the entire last conversation. If you have any advice let me know!_**

Scorpius raced through the halls and up the stairs to the head's office in order to present himself to Professor McGonagall. Frantically, he banged on the door until the portal swung open and the headmistress emerged, looking quite irritated at the ruckus he was making.

"Mr. Malfoy! What on earth…"

"It's Rose Weasley! She's gotten terribly sick all of a sudden!"

"Where?" she asked him in alarm, her whole body tensing up as if preparing to panic.

"In Herbology," he exclaimed. McGonagall's face relaxed somewhat, then became more stern.

"I'm certain Professor Longbottom can handle whatever…"

"You don't understand!" he cried out and McGonagall scowled at his insolence, "She's really bad! She's passed out!"

"Has Professor Longbottom asked you to come and fetch me?" she asked him. Scorpius looked down sheepishly.

"No ma'am. Not exactly," he admitted, "He sent me here on a referral." She raised an eyebrow.

"Why?" she demanded.

"Well…I'm in trouble for talking back…and using bad language," he confessed reluctantly, "But Professor Longbottom…"

"Mr. Malfoy," she cautioned.

"I'm sorry, Headmistress," he said honestly, "But could you please go and see to Rose. She really is ill and I'm sure you can help her! I'll stay put and you can punish me when you come back!" She seemed to consider the request.

"Very well, Mr. Malfoy," she conceded, "I'll go look in on Miss Weasley and when I return, you and I can have a discussion with Professor Longbottom about your impropriety in Herbology class."

"Yes, ma'am," he agreed in relief. He was certain that if anyone in the school was powerful enough to cure Rose, it was their headmistress. And if not, having McGonagall present was likely to speed up the process of getting Rose to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies.

"You may go up and wait for me in my office," she told him and he obeyed, climbing the spiral stairs into the head's office.

Though he was the only person present, the room seemed very busy. A quill was scribbling furiously in a ledger on McGonagall's desk. Several portraits of former heads were wandering in and out of their frames. A lively flock of tiny, golden birds circled over the desk and he noticed that most of them were carrying a golden ribbon in their tiny beaks. Scorpius collapsed into an armchair in frustration.

"Running a insolent mouth, Mr. Malfoy?" came a snide voice from behind him. Scorpius turned round in alarm, and scanned the empty office behind him. Finally, his eyes come to rest on the ill-tempered visage of Severus Snape, slouching in the corner of his frame, reading from the book he generally carried.

"He had it coming," Scorpius stated flatly and Snape snorted at the unmitigated impudence of modern youth.

"He did!" Scorpius insisted, "He practically accused me of trying to kill my classmate!"

"Well, that's to be expected," interjected the portrait of a thin, prim-looking witch in a ridiculously ornate hat.

"No it isn't!" Scorpius argued back at her, childishly forgetting that she was a portrait and not a real person, "No one expects to be accused of attempted murder!" Snape sighed and set the book on his lap, examining his old schoolmate's grandson with an unaffected gaze.

"You'll save yourself a significant amount of aggravation if you accept the fact that your family name bares a nasty reputation," he advised.

"I accept the reputation," Scorpius snapped back, "I accept that people glare at me when I go out in public. I accept that complete strangers assume the worst of me. But that old git's been my teacher for a year and a half! He's had plenty of time to realize that I'm not some sort of criminal!" Snape fell silent again, his dark, empty eyes gazing down at the pages of his book. Scorpius couldn't tell if he was contemplating how to respond or was simply tired of speaking with him and had gone back to his reading. Finally, he did speak again.

"Answer honestly, Mr. Malfoy. Have you done anything to make Professor Longbottom dislike you?" Scorpius was surprised by the question.

"Absolutely not!" he insisted adamantly, but then he remembered the scene he'd just left. "Er…that is, until just now…I rather blew up at him and I think I called him an incompetent jackass."

"You ought to take responsibility for that and avoid getting into anymore arguments with him. You don't have to like each other, you just have to tolerate each other with reasonable respect." Scoprius snorted in disgust.

"Typical teacher answer," he criticized, "What you mean is _I_ have to respect _him_ because he's the adult, but he can say or do whatever he pleases and I just have to smile and take it." Snape shrugged.

"A smile isn't requisite. Just avoid direct insults and keep the profanity down." Scorpius crossed his arms sulkingly and groaned.

"It's ridiculously unfair. I didn't do anything to deserve this!"

"No," Snape agreed, "And I assure you, it'd be in your best interest to keep it that way. These little eruptions are only going to get you into serious trouble."

"You certainly are good at telling people the exact thing the do NOT want to hear!" Scorpius growled at him, "I suppose when you were a teacher, you chose students to hate for no reason as well?"

"I did not hate my students," he responded sharply and Scorpius was surprised to detect an uncharacteristic flicker of emotion in his voice, "But yes, I certainly had those I never got along with." Scorpius' face suddenly lit up with recollection.

"My dad said you hated Harry Potter," Scorpius baited him slyly, "He said you used to torture him every chance you got." If it was possible, Snape's dark eyes seemed to lose even more light at the mention of his former student.

"I did not hate him," Snape insisted again, "I just…couldn't stand him."

"Why not?" Scopius inquired, "What was it you found so wrong about him?"

"There wasn't anything wrong about him…" Snape paused in his explanation as if it gave him pain to continue, "Rather, the reason I couldn't tolerate his presence was mostly because of what was wrong with me. I imagine it's the same sort of situation with Longbottom. You, yourself, aren't the cause of his discomfort…"

"Now, that's more like it!" Scorpius interjected, happy to hear his own opinion validated at last.

"…His problem is with the person or thing of which you remind him."

"What do you mean? Who do I remind him of?"

"The boy who bullied and humiliated him throughout his school years…The Deatheaters who supported the Dark Lord's rise to power and killed hundreds of innocents…The woman who took from him his mother and father…any number of unpleasant thoughts and memories."

"I remind him of all that?" Scorpius repeated disbelievingly and for a brief moment, he felt a passing tinge of shame and pity, followed by slight wave of bitterness.

"But I didn't do those things? Why should I be mistreated because of what someone else did?"

"No one said you 'should be', I merely suggest that is why you are," Snape explained. Scorpius considered this and then said, "Well, that is simply not acceptable." Snape shook his head dispassionately.

"It is what it is. Whether you accept it or not won't change it. Just as you didn't cause Longbottom's aversion to you, there isn't very much that you can do to dispel it and you're only likely to get yourself into real trouble if you try to battle with him. As you said before, Mr. Malfoy, he is the adult… and for now, you are the student."

Scorpius grunted again and fell back in his chair. What Snape's portrait had said made sense, but it certainly didn't make him feel any less aggrieved. What he really wanted was for a grown-up to take his side and then go and shake Professor Longbottom until his teeth rattled. However, he was beginning to see the chance of that getting fainter and fainter.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of the headmistress.

"Is Rose alright, Headmistress?" Scorpius asked her anxiously. Her expression was grim and Scorpius dreaded her answer.

"We're taking her to the hospital right now. You were right to be concerned, Mr. Malfoy. There's no doubt she's been cursed."

"Is she going to die?" Scorpius asked in a horrified voice.

"I don't believe so," she responded softly as she gathered her overcoat and scarf from the cupboard behind her desk. Then she turned and approached Scorpius with much seriousness.

"Professor Longbottom seems to think this curse might be the result of some sort of prank," she told him. Scorpius hated the fact that anyone was accusing him but he was grateful that McGonagall seemed to have very little confidence in the truth of the allegation. He reached into his pocket and withdrew his wand.

"Here," he offered, "See for yourself!" McGonagall muttered the incantation and gave it a light shake. The faint figure of a crane emerged from the tip of his wand and fluttered around the room. It was wispy looking, as though it was made of smoke.

"That's from Transfiguration Class," Scorpius explained, "We were meant to turn a paper crane into a real one."

"Well, this certainly was a good one!" she replied admirably as the smoke bird flew into the wall and dissipated. Scorpius smiled shyly.

"Actually, the hardest part for me was folding that little bit of paper so many times to make it into the crane!" McGonagall gave a faint smile and handed him back his wand.

"At any rate, I'm confident in your innocence regarding Miss Weasley." Scorpius beamed in relief.

"Thank you, Headmistress!" However, her face was still stern and Scorpius knew the conversation wasn't quite over.

"However, your outburst in class today was completely intolerable!" she chastised him, "Students at Hogwarts are expected to conduct themselves with a certain level of decorum…"

"But…" Scorpius interrupted defensively.

"_Even_ when they are disputing an injustice, Mr. Malfoy!" Scorpius sighed in defeat.

"Yes, Headmistress."

"What would your mother say, young man, if she heard you addressing your teacher with that sort of language?" Scorpius' eyes widened.

"Well, she'd probably use the scourgify spell on my mouth," he confessed, "Once, I used a bad word at my grandfather and I was spitting up soap bubbles all night!" He glanced at his headmistress anxiously. He hoped she wasn't going to serve him soap for dinner. He was cautiously relieved when he saw that she looked more bemused by his story than inspired.

"Your teacher will be arriving here in just a moment," she told him, "You are to apologize to him for your deplorable behavior and then you are to go to dinner."

"Yes, Headmistress," he agreed. He wanted to ask her if he'd lost house points or gotten a detention, but he didn't want to give her any ideas.

McGonagall disappeared quickly into the portal and Scorpius was left alone in the office to worry about his friend. Several minutes later, he heard the portal opening again and he got up from the chair to face his teacher. Professor Longbottom's head emerged from behind the door and he looked about the room until he caught sight of Scorpius. He examined him sternly and gestured for him to come closer. Scorpius took a deep breath and strode over to the corner where his teacher was standing. Snape's portrait emerged curiously from his book in order to witness the transaction. After several agonizing moments of silence and no eye-contact, Scorpius began, stiflly "Professor Longbottom, I apologize for my…deplorable behavior." He glanced up at his teacher, who's reaction was incredulous.

"Do you, Mr. Malfoy? Why?"

"_The headmistress said I have to,"_ Scorpius thought disdainfully, but he had sense enough not to say it.

"Because I broke the rules?" he offered. Professor Longbottom didn't seem to be satisfied with his response, but he didn't look as though he knew what exactly to say. The silence was becoming suffocating. Scorpius glanced over at Snape's portrait, which was regarding them with more interest than Scorpius had ever seen the painting pay to anything. His dispassionate expression betrayed no feeling and Scorpius found himself wondering which of them Snape was more sympathetic with. Then he had to wonder if the portrait even had any sympathy to offer at all.

Professor Longbottom noticed his student's distraction and followed his gaze to the portrait of his old potions master. He clearly found the sight distasteful. He'd always considered Snape to be a cruel and, at times, terrifying individual when he was alive. His potions classroom had been a torture chamber during his first six years of school and Snape's short career as headmaster had been the worst year of Neville Longbottom's life. Scorpius looked back at his teacher.

"May I go to dinner now?" he asked, forgetting to address him properly. Professor Longbottom nodded, still keeping one eye on the cold, soulless-looking man in the portrait. Scorpius skirted around his teacher quickly and bolted toward the door.

"Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Longbottom called and Scorpius cringed and turned around slowly.

"I also apologize for accusing you unjustly."

Scorpius' jaw dropped. He was entirely unaccustomed to adults who apologized to children. He didn't know at all what to say.

"I…I…" he stuttered.

"Do you accept?" Professor Longbottom asked and Scopius nodded quickly.

"Grown-ups never apologize to kids!" he exclaimed in an amazed and somewhat skeptical tone.

"A man should always apologize when he's done harm," Professor Longbottom told him, "Regardless of whether the one he's harmed is his master or his servant…or even a child. The ability to show remorse for one's actions isn't a weakness, it's a strength."

"I reckon I've never heard it done before," Scorpius explained, "I mean, kids are always being made to apologize if they make a wrong move, but not the other way around."

"Your parents have never apologized to you before?"

Scorpius thought about it.

"Not that I recall," he concluded, "But they _are _my parents. I mean, I'm their son and they take considerable pains trying to avoid harming me in the first place."

"Well," responded Professor Longbottom, "In the furture, I shall try to do the same." Again, Scorpius didn't know what to say.

"Thank you, sir," he finally responded, though that didn't seem quite right either.

"You may go to dinner, now," he told him and Scorpius nodded and departed for the great hall, his face still slightly puzzled.

Now alone, Neville looked again at the portrait of Severus Snape, which had buried itself back into the pages of the book.

"Well?" Neville demanded from him. Snape continued to stare at the pages over his hooked nose and didn't bother to respond.

"Don't you have anything to say?" he asked again angrily.

"Are you addressing me?" Snape asked languidly, without even looking up.

"Yes, I am."

"I have nothing to say." Neville glared at him and shook his head in disgust.

"You great tyrant!" he accused, and he stormed out of the office leaving the room in relative peace. The quill had finished its accounting in the ledger. The golden birds orbited slowly around the desk, almost as if flying while asleep. Most the other portraits had left their frames or were dozing off quietly in the absence of the headmistress. Snape's portrait slowly turned the pages of his book. No one was there to notice the sorrow brimming in his eyes.


	22. The Hospital Wing

As Scorpius pensively made his way down the stairs to the corridor, he nearly crashed right into Albus, who was pacing back and forth while waiting for him.

"Thank goodness, he let you go!" Albus exclaimed in relief, "I was afraid he'd keep you up there forever! I hope you didn't lose too many house points!" Scorpius shook his head hesitantly, "He didn't say I lost any." Albus looked up in surprise.

"No? Did you get a month's detention?" Scorpius shook his head, looking quite perplexed. Albus' eyes grew terribly wide and he gasped.

"He didn't expel you?" he asked in unrestrained horror and Scorpius shook his head again.

"He didn't punish me at all," he responded in amazement, "He…apologized."

"Apologized? For you calling him a jackass?"

"No. For being one, I guess." Albus' eyes grew even wider.

"Well, that's an unpredictable turn of events!"

"I know," he agreed, "Here he's been punishing me left and right all term when I didn't do anything, then when I actually do something wrong, he lets me off. I think some of those poisonous fungi may have addled his gray matter." Albus shrugged skeptically then smiled.

"See? I told you he's not a git!"

"Come on, anyway," Scorpius said, "Let's go down to dinner!" Albus groaned with worry, "How do you expect me to eat dinner with my own cousin an inch from death at St. Mungo's?" Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"First of all, I've never heard of a curse that was cured with a hunger strike. Secondly, that's where everyone else is, and don't you think you ought to tell your brother and cousins what's happened?" Albus reluctantly nodded his agreement.

"Last of all, we can't let Wright out of our sight. Now we know for certain he's dangerous! You can't have any doubt that he was the one who cursed Rose. We actually saw him do it!" Albus nodded again.

"I tried to tell the headmistress when she came down, but I don't think she took me seriously. She said she'd look into it when she returned from the hospital. Even Uncle Neville didn't listen when I tried to tell him. He just told me to go to dinner." Scorpius shared his friend's vexation.

"Well, until McGonagall comes back from the hospital, we have to keep watch on Wright like a goblin, so he doesn't curse anybody else!" Albus agreed vehemently and they went down to dinner.

In the great hall, they were greeted by an livid sea of angry faces at the Gryffindor table. James Potter jumped to his feet like an enraged pit bull when he caught sight of Scorpius. Albus had to grab hold of his brother to keep him from attacking his friend.

"What did you do to my cousin, Malfoy!" James screamed at him.

"Stop it, you halfwit!" Albus hissed at his brother, eyeing the sparsely populated staff table. Professor Bannes had risen from her seat and looked as though she might approach them.

"Scorpius didn't do anything!" Albus insisted, "It was Wright that cursed her!"

"Yeah. Go beat _him _up, Potter!" Scorpius suggested. Albus gave him a look that begged him to reserve his obstructive comments.

"Where is he?" James demanded. His eyes darted up and down the Slytherin table furiously.

"Be reasonable, James," Albus begged, "This is really serious. You can't just beat him up. If he bound that spell himself, he's probably the only one who knows how to save Rose!"

"What do you propose we do then?" he demanded with tremendous frustration. Albus took a deep breath and tried to think of something other then 'wait-for-the-headmistress'.

"Eugh!" he finally moaned in consternation, "Why did he have to curse Rose? She's the one who always thinks up the best plans!"

"Calm down, Albus," Scorpius suggested comfortingly, "We can think up plans too. We just have to figure out how to trick Wright into giving us the counter curse."

"We could threaten to kill him if he doesn't!" offered Randy flippantly.

"That isn't going to work," Scorpius told him, "He has absolutely no expectation that you really can or will kill him."

"Don't be so sure," Randy growled, glaring at the back of Wright's head as he sat alone at the seclusion table, "I probably won't kill him but I'll certainly work him over if it'll get a cure for Rose."

Albus argued, "But Wright gets threatened and punished all the time and it doesn't even seem to phase him. It's as if he gets so much enjoyment out of being evil, it makes facing the consequences all worthwhile." Scorpius continued to think aloud, "Maybe there's something he really likes that we could offer him if he gives us the counter-curse."

"But what?" Albus asked, "He doesn't care about anything!" Scorpius seemed to be considering the problem when suddenly, their conversation was interrupted by Professor Bannes, who demanded that Albus and Scorpius take their seats for the meal. The two Slytherins shuffled to their own table reluctantly.

"There has to be something," Scorpius insisted as he ruefully observed Wright at the seclusion table, "Otherwise, what would get him out of bed in the morning?"

"Maybe we should ask the other first years," Albus suggested, "Maybe they know something about Wright that can helps us."

They both glanced down the table at the four remaining first year boys. Darby Zipf seemed to be saying something both secretive and intriguing as Virgil, Daniel, and Mitchell were all bent forward and listening with gleeful expressions of mischief. Suddenly, they all broke out in the kind of sinister laughter that only stems from misbehaving pre-adolescents. Severral of the teachers stopped their conversations to glare at the Slytherin table in disapproval. Instinctively, the four boys glanced at the staff table to make certain the teachers hadn't heard whatever it was they weren't supposed to be talking about, and then sniggered at each other knowingly.

"We can ask them after we've all gone down to the common room," Scorpius suggested pessimistically. He didn't seem to think much of the first years' ability to help. The meal appeared on the table and the two of them filled their plates meagerly. Neither felt very hungry and they mostly picked at the food and tried to think of ways to get Wright to relinquish the counter spell. The hall was eerily quiet. Albus glanced back over at the Gryffindor table where his brother and cousins were all sitting together and whispering amongst themselves. Even the staff table was uncharacteristically quiet as several teachers were missing and the remaining staff were whispering to each other furtively as if they didn't want the students to know what they were discussing.

"Hey!" Scorpius exclaimed all of a sudden, "Where's Vineyard? She isn't at her table!" Albus scanned the Hufflepuff table and realized Scorpius was correct. Sarah Vineyard was indeed missing.

"That's strange," he commented, "I hope she's alright."

After dinner was ended, the two of them approached the Hufflepuff prefects and inquired after Sarah. The prefect rolled her eyes at the mention of her name.

"She's spending the night in the hospital wing," she explained as she shook her head superciliously, "Some students found her bawling her eyes out in the corner of a broom cupboard. It took near an hour to coax her out of there and she was crying so much she got sick!" Scorpius gave Albus a look of concern.

"What was wrong with her?" Albus asked her. The prefect shrugged.

"With that one, who knows?" Albus and Scorpius headed back to their table.

"We should go down to the hospital wing and check on her," Scorpius told him.

"What about Wright?" Albus asked uncertainly. They both looked over at the seclusion table where Wright had gotten into it with Octavian Bell.

"Eat your food, will you?" Bell demanded angrily, "You've had a full hour!" Wright grumbled something unintelligible and pushed his potatoes around with his fork.

"Come on, Bell!" urged another prefect, "There's a prefect meeting starting in ten minutes!" Bell raised his hands in frustration.

"This stubborn troll won't eat his food!" he whined, "He's taking his sweet time for spite! He knows I have a meeting tonight!"

"So? Why don't you bounce already?" Wright retorted insubordinately. Bell lunged at him with his hand fisted, as if he meant to cuff him on the back of the head.

"I'd like to bounce you!" he muttered, and to his mate he explained, "The little punk knows I can't take him down to his room until he's at least eaten something." The other prefect shrugged sympathetically and promised to save Bell a seat at the meeting.

"Come on," Scorpius assured Albus, "Wright isn't going to curse anyone else tonight. Let's go and see to Vineyard."

When they knocked gently at the door to the hospital wing, they were surprised when the door was opened by a tiny female house elf who bowed deeply when she saw them.

"Hoppy is at your service, sirs," she greeted them in a timid whisper.

"We want to see Sarah Vineyard," Scorpius advised her, "Is she here?" Hoppy nodded vehemently.

"Oh, yes sir!" she squeaked, "Sarah Vineyard has been here since early this afternoon!"

"Why?" Albus asked, "Is she ill?" Hoppy shook her head.

"Oh, no sir! Sarah Vineyard is not ill. Madam has looked her all over and found nothing wrong with her, sir. Madam asked her to go back to her classes, but Sarah Vineyard will not go!"

"Why not?" Scorpius asked. Hoppy's eyes grew very wide as she answered.

"Hoppy doesn't know, sir! Sarah Vineyard won't stop crying long enough to tell Hoppy or Madam what is wrong!"

"Can we see her, Hoppy?" Albus asked her. Hoppy seemed to shrink at the request.

"Oh, no sir," Hoppy whispered as if she was ashamed that she had to deny them, "Hoppy is sorry, sir. Madam won't allow any visitors while she is away at St. Mungo's, sir."

"But, Hoppy," Scorpius suggested, "We're Sarah's friends. Maybe we can help convince her to go back to her room." Hoppy looked very uncertain.

"Madam, did want Sarah Vineyard to go back to her own room…" Hoppy admitted cautiously.

"We'd only be a moment," Scorpius promised, "And we'd be extremely quiet. We wouldn't disturb anyone else." Hoppy looked somewhat distressed and her orb-like eyes narrowed as she tried to decide what to do. Before she was able to come to a conclusion, however, Scorpius was gently pushing past her toward the main ward, where about a dozen beds where lined up against opposite walls. In the middle of the farthest bed was a large, round lump that trembled slightly as they approached.

"Sarah Vineyard?" Scorpius whispered and two watery, brown eyes appeared near the pillow, only to retract a moment later under the blanket.

"What is it, Sarah?" Scorpius asked her, "What's bothering you?" He received no response. They tried for nearly an hour to wheedle her out from under the sheets, to no avail. Finally, Hoppy came back and tugged on their sleeves, pleading with them to leave before she got into trouble.

"Well, have a good night," Scorpius told Sarah reluctantly, "We hope you feel better soon." He and Albus quickly left the ward and after saying a quick thank you to Hoppy, they made their way down the corridor, toward the dungeons. As they were turning the corner, they encountered the assistant caretaker Mr. Willard, who had somehow inherited the business of escorting the belligerent Wright back to his room.

"You two need to get down the common room," Mr. Willard informed them, "The teachers don't want anyone roaming the halls tonight." Wright's defiant glare became a maniacal grin at the sight of his two housemates.

"How's your cousin, Potter?" he asked callously.

"Quiet, you!" Mr. Willard demanded, giving Wright a slight push in the direction of his room, "No one cares to hear any more of your lip!" Wright glared at them menacingly and allowed the ratty caretaker to lead him down the hall.

"Mr. Willard had better watch out!" Scorpius observed once they'd gone round the corner, "Wright managed to curse Schlegel and he's a much more powerful wizard than Willard!"

Shortly thereafter, the two exhausted boys arrived in the Slytherin common room. A group of sixth and seventh year boys were raucously engaged in a game of chance called "Zumblecrack", a complicated form of wagering and amusement which involved several colors and shapes of tokens, seven exploding dice, and an ever-evolving list of rules that no one seemed able to keep straight. It was a favorite of the older boys, but Professor Schlegel had forbidden it to be played in the common room as it always erupted into a fierce argument and not infrequently, bloodshed as well. In their head-of-house's absence, however, Bell seemed to have taken it upon himself to reinstate the nightly games.

"Off to bed, little ones!" ordered one of the older boys when they caught sight of them making themselves comfortable on the couch.

"Says who?" Scorpius demanded indignantly.

"Says us!" answered another boy, "The teachers say no one is allowed out of their dormitories tonight and _we_ say little kids aren't wanted in here!"

"Yeah!" a third boy added mockingly, "We're enjoying ourselves too much to have to worry about corrupting your innocent widdle minds." Scorpius rolled his eyes.

"Please, there isn't anything you could possibly be saying that's any worse than what I overhear at home."

"Sorry, Malfoy," said the first boy unbendingly, "Little pitchers have big ears."

"And even bigger mouths!" added another haughtily and the crowd erupted into laughter, jeers, and taunting, calling for the two younger boys to depart.

"Don't make me get out of my chair, Potter!" threatened one of them and Albus gave them an unpleasant look before rising and beckoning for Scorpius to follow him downstairs. Once they were descending the stairwell, Albus pointed out that the first years were probably already in their rooms and they might try and get some information on them.

They knocked on the first door; the room belonging to Virgil Bumgarner and the Irwin twins. No one answered, but the second door opened and Mitchell Fisk's sour face emerged.

"He ain't in there," Fisk told them, "He's upstairs in his brother's room."

"Oh," Scoprius replied, looking at Albus uncertainly, "Well, what are you guys doing?" Fisk narrowed his eyes at Scorpius.

"We're minding our own business. Why don't you give it a try?" With that, Fisk slammed the door. Scorpius snorted indignantly at Fisk's slight.

"What was his problem?"

"Should we knock again?" Albus suggested.

"Maybe we should try Donner's brother first," answered Scorpius and they climbed up to the next landing where they knocked on Jesse, Donner, and Malcolm's door. Someone called for them to come in and they opened the door and peeked inside. The three second years were sitting at the table, their homework spread out before them. Virgil was sprawled out on his older brother's bed, reading a book.

"What's going on?" Albus asked them.

"We got thrown out of the library," Malcolm grumbled, "So we relocated our mid-term cram here."

"Care to join us?" Jesse offered.

"Um…Probably not," Albus responded hesitantly, "I don't think I could study properly tonight. I've got a lot on my mind."

"Oh, right," Jesse realized sheepishly, "I'm sorry about your cousin." The other two boys nodded their agreement and Albus thanked them.

"What are you doing in here?" Scorpius asked Virgil casually, trying to direct the conversation toward the matter at hand.

"He won't leave!" his older brother complained.

"I don't have anyone to talk to," Virgil justified, "Now, that the twins are gone."

"Why aren't you hanging out with the other first years?" Scorpius asked. Virgil rolled his eyes and sat up on the bed.

"Because they're idiots!" he informed them, "They're planning on sneaking out tonight."

"Why?" they chorused in response.

"Because they'll do anything Jeremy Wright tells them to do, no matter how stupid it is."

"Why does Wright want them to sneak out?"

"Who knows?" Virgil answered pretentiously, "And I honestly couldn't care less. But those stooges are so proud to be included. Look, ma! I'm a henchman!" Scorpius looked at his friend in alarm and Albus could tell what he was thinking. If Fisk, Cullen, and Zipf helped Wright get out of seclusion, he could curse dozens of people and no one would find them until morning!

"When is this little excursion supposed to take place?" Scorpius asked, straining to keep his voice calm. Virgil shrugged and opened up his book again.

"I'm not in their little gang so I'm not privileged to their moronic little secrets."

"Hey, if you aren't going to help us study, d'ya mind going somewhere else to talk?" Donner requested.

"Yeah, sure," responded Scorpius, "We've got something to do anyway." Albus nodded urgently and quickly departed for their own room.

"What do we do now?" Albus cried as soon as the door was shut, "Should we tell someone?"

"Tell who, exactly?" Scorpius pointed out, "Schlegel's gone, the headmistress is out, and there's a crowd of people having a gambling party upstairs. Maybe the prefects aren't even back from their meeting yet!" Albus looked down worriedly.

"You're right," he said, "We're on our own. We're going to have to follow them when they try to sneak out, and find out what Wright's up to!"


	23. Wright's Plan

Albus opened his trunk and began digging through the contents until he found what he wanted; a small, wooden crate baring the Weasley emblem on the top and containing an arsenal of pranks, tricks, paraphernalia of deception, and other articles of juvenile delinquency.

"My uncle gave me this for my birthday," he explained proudly as he placed it on his bed, "This stuff is the best there is for finding out what Wright is up to." Scorpius picked up a brightly colored paper bag and read aloud,

"_Puking Pastilles- Decadent Chocolate Flavor Going Down and Coming Back Up._ Why would someone want a snack that makes people puke?"

"My brother and I use them to get out of de-gnoming the garden and cleaning the cellar. At least we used to. Mum knows to check for the chocolate smell by now." Scorpius wrinkled his nose in disgust.

"There ought to be a better way. Anyway, I don't see how this stuff is going to help us spy on the first years." Albus smiled knowingly.

"Don't worry. Surveillance is one of my uncle's specialties!" He pulled from the box a small tin can that looked like it held rubber cement.

"_Silent Snooper Serum."_ He twisted off the cap and removed a short paint brush. Albus removed his shoes and painted the clear ooze from the canister onto the soles. He then replaced them on his feet and stood up. Scorpius was amazed as Albus leaped about like a Scottish sword dancer without his feet making the slightest sound.

"Wicked!" Scorpius exclaimed and he snatched up the Snooper Serum and began painting it onto his own shoes. As he did so, Albus sat down on the bed again and began rummaging through the box, stuffing his pockets with Weasley Extendable Ears and Instant Darkness Powder.

"Why can't I ever get a practical birthday gift like this?" Scorpius complained, "All they ever send me is sweets! I'll be fat as your cousin Dursley before I reach twenty-one!"

"Hush! Listen!" Albus whispered suddenly. A dull thud followed by the sounds of multiple feet scraping on stone indicated that the three first years had emerged from their room.

"Nox!" whispered Scorpius and the light in their room was extinguished. They watched the crack of flickering light under their door and waited for their housemates' dark shadows to pass by before silently sneaking into the stairwell behind them. They were able to move quite quickly due to their silent feet and as they reached the last landing, the sounds of the three first years footsteps was drowned out by the noisy game of Zumblecrack that was still going on above them. The two boys had to stop short as they'd caught up to the first years who were crouched at the top of the steps, just out of sight of the older boys. A flash of blue light reflected on the stone wall before them, followed by a loud moaning sound and they realized that one of the first years had cast some sort of spell. Albus and Scorpius crept as far up the stairs as they could without being seen and peeked around the round, stone wall.

"Oi! Where do you think you're goin', Junior?" grumbled one of the older boys at the table when he'd caught sight of the first years.

"The hospital wing," chorused two of the three first years and Cullen added, "Zipf is all covered in boils. We think maybe it's the twitch measles!"

"Eugh!" groaned the repulsed voice of a teenage girl from the direction of the couch, "Don't come over here!"

"Yeah, get him out of here!" cried several of the older boys and the three first years were granted clear passage through the portal, leaving Albus and Scorpius to develop a plan of their own as to how they might follow. They crept as high up the stairs as they could and snuck a peak into the room. The sixth and seventh year boys were having a heated, rule-related discussion and several of the older girls had accumulated on the couches, trying without much success to attract their attentions. Albus wondered if they couldn't simply sneak across behind the girls without being seen. He motioned for Scorpius to follow him into the common room but Scorpius shook his head apprehensively. Albus then noticed a large, dilapidated arm chair that was at most ten steps away from the boys' stairwell. From there, they would have a good vantage point and would not be visible to the girls on the sofa or the boys at the table. Albus pointed to the chair and Scorpius silently nodded his agreement. They waited for an opportune explosion of argument from the table and scuttled quickly to the armchair, ducking down just in time before any of the other students noticed them. They hunched there for several moments, listening to the boys argue and insult one another and the girls feeble attempts to distract the boys from the game with their flirting.

"_What now?"_ Scorpius mouthed and Albus reached into his pocket for the Instant Darkness Powder. Before he could throw it, however, Scorpius caught hold of his arm urgently and pointed at the mantle behind him. Albus craned his neck around to see what his friend was pointing at. Snape's visage stared disapprovingly back at them, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. The boys looked at the portrait pleadingly and Albus raised his finger to his lips, imploring Snape not to say anything to get them caught. The painting glared at them for what seemed like a lifetime, then finally disappeared from the frame. Scorpius gave his friend a puzzled expression, clearly wondering if Snape's portrait had agreed to keep silence or had gone off to fetch the headmistress. Either way, it was now or never. Albus flung the powder toward the center of the room and they were instantly surrounded by ink-like blackness and shouts and squeals of annoyance from the other students. They bolted in the direction of the portal and scrambled into the corridor and around the corner before they could be caught. They paused there a moment, catching their breath, then headed upwards into the castle and in the direction of the seclusion room.

As their silent feet made their way through the dark corridor, they began to hear the other boys' voices echoing against the stone walls. They skittered to a stop at the last corner before the hospital wing when they saw a dim glow reflected on the wall in front of them. Albus crouched down and peaked around the corner. The corridor seemed to be an infinite tunnel in the darkness but Albus could make out the three faces of their classmates, illuminated by their wands as they stood and conferred with each other outside the door to the hospital wing. Their whispers where barely audible and Albus couldn't quite make out what they were saying. Suddenly, their faces were joined by a fourth.

"Wright's down there with them!" Albus whispered to Scorpius, "He's already got out of the seclusion room!"

"What are they doing?" Scorpius demanded.

"They're just standing outside the door to the hospital," Albus informed him. Scorpius stuck his head around the corner as well.

"Can you make out what they're saying?" he asked after a moment.

"No," Albus whispered anxiously.

"Oi! What's that!" one of the boys cried and Albus and Scorpius' hearts skipped a beat as they scrambled out of view.

"It's only a cat, you baby!" one of the boys chastised the other and sure enough, a few moments later, something low to the ground with glowing eyes passed by Scorpius and Albus' legs. They both heaved a sigh of relief and Albus snuck another look down the corridor.

"They're gone!" he exclaimed fearfully, "They've gone in!" The two of them tore down the corridor to the door to the hospital wing and Albus took hold of the iron doorknob and turned it. A sharp squeak seemed to pierce the silence and Albus dropped the knob immediately. Scorpius took out his wand and whispered, "Silencio," once on the knob and on each of the three hinges. Albus tried the door again and it slid open soundlessly.

The hospital ward seemed quite bright in comparison to the hallway. Large windows filled one side of the room and the bright moonlight shone down on dozens of beds, all of them empty. Albus and Scorpius slowly closed the door behind them and tiptoed to a large, folding, canvas screen that the nurse used to provide sleeping patients with some measure of privacy. Between the panels was a large crack and they were able to get a clear view of the room without being noticed.

Across the ward, Wright and the others seemed to be searching for something under the furniture. Fisk gave the cot on the end a good kick and they all heard a soft cry of terror. The other three instantly formed a circle around the bed and trapped whatever had made the sound underneath.

"It's Vineyard!" Scorpius realized aloud. Wright and Fisk took hold of the cot and flung it over, revealing Sarah Vineyard who was huddled underneath, knees to her chest, weeping with fear. Wright grabbed her and drug her to her feet.

"Give it to us now!" he demanded furiously.

"I…I…c-can't!" she wailed between gasps of breath.

"I know it was you!" he continued to berate her, "Give it up now or we'll…"

"You'll what, Wright?" Albus demanded, brandishing his wand and revealing their hiding place, "You'll do what you did to Rose?" Wright's mouth fell open in surprise at the sight of them. He released Sarah, who collapsed to the floor again, cowering.

"What I did?" he asked incredulously, "What do you mean, what I did?"

"What are you playing at?" Scorpius asked accusingly, "We saw you do it!"

"You saw _her_ do it, you mean!" Wright corrected him, jabbing his finger at the whimpering mess on the floor.

"You are not seriously expecting us to believe that," Albus asked as if he thought Wright might be the wizarding world's biggest imbecile.

"Believe what you want, she's the one that did it!" Wright insisted again, "And the potions teacher, and the twins. I seen her curse the twins myself, cause they were picking on her, only I didn't know yet what she'd done because the curse didn't start working until much later!"

"No, no, no!" Sarah sobbed uncontrollably, "I didn't…I didn't!"

"Yeah, and we all saw Schlegel giving her a hard time in our potions lab," Cullen added, "She got a detention and next thing we knew, Schlegel was barely alive!"

"It was her, I tell you!" Wright accused, "And we've gotta get her to give us the reversal spell before she kills us all!" Albus stared at the wretched girl on the floor. He couldn't bring himself to believe that she would, or even could, intentionally harm anyone. Scorpius seemed entirely unprepared to swallow Wright's story either.

"That's rubbish!" he insisted, "You're just trying to keep the suspicion off yourself! Vineyard is about the most harmless thing that ever lived!"

"Tell that to your friend, Weasley!" Wright snidely retorted, "That is, tell it to her corpse when she dies because you didn't believe me!" Scorpius glanced over at Albus, who seemed to be deeply conflicted.

"Do you believe this?" Scorpius asked him.

"I…I'm not sure what to believe," Albus admitted.

"You're not actually taking him seriously?" Scorpius asked him, almost accusingly, "I mean…It has to be him…He has to be lying!" Albus looked from Wright, to Sarah, to Scorpius.

"His wand was clean, when we tested it," Albus pointed out, "He didn't cast that curse."

"Well…maybe," Scorpius admitted, "But Vineyard? Come on! How could she-"

"They were both standing behind us," Albus interrupted, "None of us saw who cast the curse that hit Rose."

"It was her!" Wright insisted once again, "She was aiming for me but I ducked just in time and it hit Weasley."

"Sarah," Albus commanded gently, "Give me your wand." Sarah looked at him in confusion.

"My…my…wand?" she asked between gasps.

"We'll take it to the teachers," he explained, "They can use the prior incantato spell to see if you are the one who cursed Rose." Sarah's eyes widened in horror.

"No!" she wailed, clutching her wand protectively, "I didn't! I didn't!"

"She won't give it to you because she knows what it'll show," Wright declared triumphantly.

"Sarah, give it to him," Scorpius coaxed her gently, "It'll prove that Wright is lying." Sarah only sobbed the louder and held her wand tightly to her chest as she crept away from Wright.

"Give it here, you!" Wright demanded and he lunged at Sarah, attempting to wrench the wand from her hands. Sarah shrieked in fear and an orange glow burst from her wand as they tussled for it. Wright held fast to the wand, unwilling to relinquish it and the orange light became more and more intense. Albus and Scoprius had to squint their eyes and look away from it's brightness amid the screams of their housemates. Suddenly, the light was extinguished and Wright was crumbled in a heap on the floor, more dead than alive. Cullen, Fisk, and Zipf raced for the door in terror. Sarah slowly backed away from Wright's body, weeping hysterically.

"I didn't mean to!" she wailed remorsefully, "I didn't mean to!" The two remaining boys stared in shock as Sarah collapsed once again to the floor, trembling and sobbing. Scorpius swallowed and approached her.

"It'll be alright, Sarah," he whispered to her, "Give me your wand." Sarah's large brown eyes stared at him beseechingly as she let him pry the wand from her fingers.


	24. The Aftermath

Albus and Scorpius knelt on either side of Wright, examining him for signs of life. Scorpius seemed afraid to touch him. His complexion had gone quite grey and his eyes looked sunken in. Albus thought he detected uneven, shallow gasps for breath.

"Is he still alive?" Scorpius whispered uneasily.

"I think so," Albus responded, "But we'd better get him some help right now!" Scorpius rose to his feet and frantically looked around the room. Sarah was crouched in the corner behind a gurney, rocking with apparent hysteria. The only other movement in the room was from a trio of portraits, all dressed in nursing garb, who were peeking at them from behind their frame and whispering anxiously about what had happened.

"Don't just stand there blathering!" Scorpius scolded them, "Get us some help, will you?" The three portraits scoffed at his insolence, but they scattered quickly, presumably to fetch them some responsible adults.

"I hope they hurry!" Albus muttered, "Wright's barely breathing!" Scorpius knelt back down beside Albus.

"Do you know any spell that can help him?" Albus asked hopefully. Scorpius thought hard, but then shook his head.

"I only can do minor burns and boils and hay fever!" he confessed. Suddenly, they both alerted to a faint scampering and they looked up from Wright to discover the nurse's elf, Hoppy, staring at them with astonishment.

"What is happening in here?" she cried in her trembling voice.

"We need help!" Albus declared, though the fact was fairly obvious. Hoppy scampered over to examine the afflicted student in an attitude of horror.

"Master Wright has been cursed!" she deduced without as much as touching him.

"It was Sarah Vineyard," Albus moaned.

"He was trying to take her wand," Scorpius added feebly, as if that somehow justified the crumpled heap of bully in the middle of the floor.

"Mistress Sarah!" Hoppy squealed in outrage, "Hoppy can't believe it, sir! Mistress Sarah is as gentle as a pygmy puff, sir!"

"Did you see her perform the curse, Potter?" came a low voice from behind them and the three spun around to face the portrait of Snape along with the nurse's portrait that had summoned him. Scorpius sighed in exasperation.

"Couldn't you find a live grownup to help us?" he snapped at the nurse. Snape shot a him a murderous look but otherwise ignored the slight.

"Your certain it was Miss Vineyard?" he inquired again and the two boys nodded their heads reluctantly and a pitiful wail emitted from the corner where Sarah was hiding.

"Is that her?" Snape asked, scanning the corner for signs of life.

"Yes," confirmed Albus, "She's completely terrified."

"Not nearly as terrified as she needs to be," Snape muttered, "Bring her out here!"

"But, what are you going to do to her?" Scorpius argued apprehensively, "She's so upset she can't even speak." Snape's eyes narrowed at Scorpius.

"This is a matter of considerable urgency, Malfoy," he pointed out impatiently, "If you will recall, there are five lives at stake here! It would be very wise of you not to waste time arguing." Scorpius looked more than a little distressed, but he went to pry Sarah out of the corner.

"Did anyone else witness this?" Snape demanded and Albus nodded in response.

"All the first year boys except Bumgarner," he responded. Snape seemed to consider that for a moment, then addressing Hoppy, he said,

"Go and catch the first year Slytherins before they reach the common room. Don't let them tell anyone what they saw!" Hoppy was far more accustomed to following directives without arguing than Scorpius. She disappeared instantly. Meanwhile, Scorpius was having more than a little difficulty wrenching Sarah from her hiding place.

"Come out here an once, you foolish girl!" Snape demanded and Sarah shrieked in terror.

"Come on, Sarah!" Scorpius pleaded with her, "He can't hurt you after all! He's nothing but oil on canvas!" Sarah fearfully allowed Scorpius to drag her before Snape's portrait, though she couldn't seem to bring herself to make eye contact with him. Scorpius couldn't really blame her. Even though he knew the portrait was powerless, Snape still radiated a formidable impression.

"Where did you learn the incantation for that curse?" Snape demanded without offering her the chance of denying that she'd cast it. The wretched girl shook her head, unable to respond.

"Did you bind the curse yourself?" he asked again. Sarah only choked between sobs.

"Girl, if you are the spellbinder, you are the only one who can save those people's lives. Did you know that?" Sarah shook her head miserably.

"Only the spellbinder that receives a curse will ever receive the counter curse. If you never release the incantation for the counter-curse, they will all die." Sarah began to sob even more hysterically.

"I…can't…!" she whispered through her sobbing, "I…I…don't….remember!"

"You don't remember?" Snape exclaimed in clear disgust, "Well you seemed to remember the incantation for the curse easily enough!"

"I…tried…and…tried!" she wailed, "I…j-j-just…can't…r-remember it!" Snape snorted incredulously.

"I don't suppose it ever occurred to your fuzzy little head that casting curses when you can't remember the counter curse is somewhat of a bad idea?" Sarah fell into a fit of coughing as tears poured down her face. Albus looked at Scorpius worriedly. Without the counter curse, how could they hope to save Rose?

Suddenly, the door swung open and the lights flared up so brightly they burned their dark-accustomed eyes and Neville Longbottom strode frantically into the room, followed by Hoppy.

"Whatever is going on in here?" he demanded when he saw them. Then he gave a small gasp as he recognized the terrified girl and the collapsed boy on the floor.

"Let go of her immediatly, Malfoy!" Professor Longbottom demanded furiously. Scorpius did as he was told and Sarah cowered to the floor, hiding her face in her hands. Hoppy bounded over to Wright and began to levitate him toward the beds on the opposite wall. Once tucked into bed, she laid hands on him and began muttering all sort of strange elfin sounds.

"Explain yourselves!" Professor Longbottom commanded. Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other fearfully. Neither one knew where to begin and they didn't want to get Sarah into any trouble. Fortunately, Snape intervened.

"Professor Longbottom, this girl needs to be taken to the pensieve in the Head's Office immediately," he explained, "She is the one who bound this curse, and only in her memories can we find the incantation for the counter curse." Professor Longbottom stared at Sarah in disbelief.

"This girl? You're quite certain?"

"Of course we are, Uncle Neville!" Albus assured him.

"As I recall, earlier today you were quite positive it was Wright who was the binder," he pointed out. Albus looked slightly sheepish.

"We saw her do it!" Scorpius insisted.

"That was precisely your contention just before dinner, only you swore you saw Jeremy Wright do it!"

"Professor Longbottom," Snape interrupted irritably, "Unless you believe one of these two boys to be the culprit, or perhaps that the Wright boy cursed himself, I don't see the point in continuing this ridiculous dispute. Take all three of them to the pensieve and you're bound to get the truth out of one of them!" Professor Longbottom glared contemptuously at the painting, but seemed to concede the logic of his case.

"Come on then," he agreed, "Let's go to the head's office." Scorpius and Albus scraped Sarah from the floor and led her after their teacher, through the corridor.

"What's a pensieve?" Sarah whispered miserably to Scorpius.

"I don't know," he admitted, "But hopefully it will help you remember what the incantation was!"

"Will it hurt me?" she whimpered. Scorpius looked at Albus who shrugged in response.

"No," Scorpius responded with as much confidence as he could fake, "They're perfectly safe. Why else would they have them in a school?" Sarah looked slightly relieved as they escorted her through the corridor.

When they'd arrived in the head's office, Snape's portrait was already waiting among scores of other deceased headmasters who, roused from their sleep, were watching with ill-tempered curiosity.

"Stand here," Professor Longbottom directed, gesturing toward the Headmistress' desk and from one of the many objects displayed in the office, he fetched a large shallow bowl that appeared to be made of silvery mother-of-pearl. He placed this bowl before them on the desk and took out his wand.

"Now," he directed Sarah, "Do you remember where you were when you bound the counter curse?" Sarah whispered a response intelligibly.

"What's that?" their teacher asked impatiently.

"I was in my bed," Sarah told him, tears welling up in her eyes once more, "I was asleep!" Professor Longbottom examined her incredulously.

"How could you bind a spell in your sleep?" he demanded. Sarah looked down at her feet and her tears spilled down her cheeks.

"I've heard it said that binders often receive spells in dreams, Uncle Neville," Albus told him, pushing the exchange toward less weeping and more productivity. Sarah looked up at him and nodded emphatically.

"What were you dreaming about?" the professor asked. Her brown eyes widened in horror and she began to tremble.

"For pity's sake, Miss Vineyard, do try to maintain some iota of self-control! We're never going to get the incantation if you can't answer my questions. Do you want your teacher and the students you cursed to die?"

"No!" she exclaimed as she made a visible effort to manage her emotions.

"Do you remember the dream?" Sarah drew her breath sharply and nodded. She looked to the boys as though she was in tremendous pain.

"I want you to think about what you dreamt, in as much detail as you can." Sarah was still sobbing quietly, but she nodded and closed her eyes, as if concentrating. Professor Longbottom took his wand and held the tip of it very close to Sarah's right temple, drawing from it a silvery stream which he deposited into the silver bowl.

"Is that her memory?" Scorpius asked in amazement and their teacher nodded.

"Hopefully, when we view it, we can find the incantation for the counter-curse."

"You're going to look at my dream?" Sarah cried as she wrung her hands in near panic.

"Precisely. Perhaps we can find…" Sarah cut him short with a wail of protest and both boys had to grab her arms to keep her from running from the room.

"Perhaps, it would be prudent to allow one of the boys to look first," suggested a voice from the wall of portraits and Albus recognized his first name sake, smiling warmly at them from behind his moon-shaped spectacles. "After all, who better than a child to find the hiding place of another child's memory? An adult would only muddle the whole thing up!" Professor Longbottom, didn't seem quite convinced as he examined Albus and Scorpius.

"Well, I suppose it can't hurt to…"

"I want Scorpius Malfoy to do it!" Sarah demanded suddenly, with more conviction than any statement any of them had ever heard her make.

"Me?" Scorpius asked in surprise.

"Yes," she confirmed decidedly, "You're my friend." Scorpius' color rose slightly.

"Al's your friend too, Sarah," he deflected. She clung on to Scorpius' arm pleadingly.

"Will you have a look, Malfoy?" Professor Longbottom asked him.

"Will it be alright?" he asked uncertainly.

"It's quite safe," interjected the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, "The worst that can happen is you see or hear something you don't want to."

"Oh, well, that's the story of my life," Scorpius laughed dryly, "What do I do?"

"Just stick your head in there," Professor Longbottom explained and Scorpius did as he was told.

Suddenly he felt himself thrust forward as though the floor had been let out from under him. An instant later, he was in a tiny, filthy kitchen amid shrieks of terror. Scorpius whipped around to face Sarah, who was staring through him as she screamed and wept, her wand arm outstretched, her wand tightly gripped in her shaking hand. The dream was silent and the edges of it were fuzzy. There was a pan sizzling noiselessly on the range and a large fan scattered dust about the room without the usual mechanical hum. The only sound was Sarah herself, who wept hysterically in her fear and rage.

"Sarah?" Scorpius asked uncertainly and he reached to touch her, but his hands only penetrated her as if she was made of smoke and her eyes went right through him to the cause of her distress somewhere behind him. Scorpius stood aside and turned to look. On the floor of the kitchen was a large, brutish-looking man soundlessly convulsing in pain. At his side, knelt a panicked woman, who gingerly attempted to comfort the man and stop his affliction as she simultaneously screamed pleadingly and silently at Sarah. Scorpius saw that the woman had large bruises on her wrists and face and a small trail of red blood trickled from her swollen nose. Partially hidden behind a filthy table cloth, a small girl baring a strong resemblance to Sarah was cowered between the table and the icebox. Her arms also bore several bruises and she cried pitifully as she stared at the suffering man and the screaming woman. Scorpius watched the scene with horror and disgust for several moments before remembering his mission. He scanned the room for any sign of the hidden incantation.

"Where is it?" he asked Sarah in vain. She couldn't hear him. Scorpius began to examine the kitchen, taking pains to avoid the horrible sight behind him. The objects on the countertop and table were blurry and hard to make out. Scorpius reasoned that they couldn't be of any importance to the dream. Scorpius glanced over at Sarah, who continued to watch the cursed man suffer, unable or unwilling to break the curse on him despite the woman's beseeching. The images began to go even fuzzier and Scorpius began to panic. Where could the answer be?

"Stop, Sarah!" cried a small voice and both Scorpius and Sarah turned to look at the little girl under the table.

"Make it stop!" the girl said again, her tear-streaked face blank and emotionless. Scorpius tiptoed to the table and peered underneath. On the side of the icebox, in green crayon, the little girl had scribbled the word, "Desinmorta".

Suddenly, the image faded completely and Scorpius found himself toppling backward into Albus, who caught and steadied him.

"Desinmorta!" he told them excitedly after he'd caught his breath.

"You're sure?" Professor Longbottom asked him and Scorpius nodded his certaintly.

"Come on," Albus urged, "Let's go to the hospital wing and try it on Wright!" The others made to follow but Scorpius was stayed by Sarah, who'd caught his arm.

"I don't want to go!" she whispered sorrowfully. Scorpius leant over and embraced her.

"You're the one who cast the spell, so you have to be the one to break it. That will make it alright again," he explained. Sarah looked up at him despondently. She didn't seem to believe it could ever be alright.

"Will you come in with me?" she begged.

"Absolutely," he promised.


	25. The Quidditch Match

The next morning, Albus awoke suddenly and sprang to life. Across the room, he noticed Scorpius' untouched bed as he dressed himself haphazardly in weekend clothes and bolted up the spiral staircase. The common room was an abandoned wreck. Snack wrappers and paper cups littered every surface and the sofa cushions were all scattered about. The vandals, however, had long since departed for their beds and were having a lie in after their long night of wagering and other frivolity. The room was eerily silent except for a soft rustle as an orange cat tried to lick something sticky from the bottom of a cup on the floor.

Albus approached the portrait of Severus Snape curiously. The potions master was leaning against the frame, his eyes closed and his book open in his lap as though he'd just dozed off. Albus thought it odd that a portrait would need sleep but he reckoned that there wasn't much else for a portrait to do when no one living was around to admire them.

Albus glanced at the name and dates on the plaque. Snape had died a young man. He'd been nearly the same age as Albus' parents. By all accounts, even his own admission, Snape had been a menacing, resentful, and loveless person his entire life. Yet Albus' father considered him a hero. Despite all those who'd advised Albus not to bother himself with the enigma of Snape's intentions, he couldn't make himself stop wondering. In truth, he didn't really want to. His father had chosen to name him for this man and Albus knew that he couldn't put the matter to rest until he understood the whole reason.

His father had told him once that he considered Snape one of the bravest men he'd ever known. Courage was a virtue highly favored in the Potter-Weasley family, but what was courage without any love or goodness to motivate it? Albus reasoned that when courage was stripped of those, it became mere ruthlessness, the trademark most commonly attributed to Slytherin house. Certainly, most every dark wizard that had ever risen to power possessed this quality at length. What was it that placed Severus Snape among the heros and not the villains? Albus knew the answer had to be bound up in the secrets Snape had shared with his father. Without that piece, the puzzle couldn't be solved and Albus was certain that his father would not betray Snape's confidence. He wondered if he could ever get Snape's portrait to tell him the truth.

Suddenly, the portrait began to stir and he opened his eyes with a sigh. Albus backed up sheepishly as Snape caught sight of him and groaned.

"Merlin's Beard, Potter! I haven't even awakened yet and you're already harassing me?"

"Er…Sorry?" Albus responded, "I guess I should have waited until you had your coffee…or whatever is the morning routine for a portrait." Snape gave a grunt of disgust and rose to leave the frame.

"Wait!" Albus pleaded anxiously, "Have Scorpius and Sarah come back from St. Mungo's yet?" Snape raised his eyebrows at the question. At first, Albus was afraid that he wasn't going to answer. But after a long yawn, Snape's portrait informed him that his friends had indeed returned to Hogwarts and were resting in the hospital wing.

"Did the counter-curse work on my cousin?" Albus inquired.

"Presumably. It worked well enough on Mr. Wright. He was alert enough this morning to get a strong reprimand from the Headmistress for sneaking out of bed after hours."

"When will I know for sure?" Albus asked him, still not quite satisfied. He had pleaded to go with his friends to the hospital, but Professor Longbottom hadn't allowed him and had ordered him back to bed. Scorpius had only been allowed to go due to the fact that Sarah refused to go without him. Albus was terribly anxious to hear if Rose was going to recover.

"I expect Professor McGonagall will want to speak to you about it this morning," Snape informed him, "She's already modified the memories of your housemates. None of them remember hearing or seeing Miss Vineyard perform the curse or the counter curse."

"Why did the headmistress do that?" Albus asked.

"Obviously," he sneered in response, "It's too dangerous a curse to be in the incompetent hands of a mob of Slytherin first years." Albus considered this.

"What's going to happen to Sarah?" he asked, "Will her memory be modified as well?" Snape looked troubled at the question.

"Her fate is currently up to the headmistress. She and Longbottom are the only adults who are aware of what she did."

"Couldn't Professor McGonagall just modify her memory as well so she can't remember the incantation and be done with it?" Albus complained.

"It's not a simple as that, Potter. She could easily have killed someone!"

"But Sarah isn't a violent person!" Albus insisted, "She only used the curse to protect herself and she was really sorry. They aren't going to lock her up in Azkaban for that?" Snape sighed again.

"And what do you expect to happen when the curse returns to her in another dream, or she binds an equally deadly spell? Miss Vineyard must learn to control herself and keep these dangerous spells to herself. Otherwise, Azkaban Prison is exactly where she belongs and where she's going to end up!" Albus fell silent. Snape had a point, he had to admit.

"Will she be expelled?" Albus questioned him sadly.

"As I've already told you, Potter, it's entirely up to the headmistress." Albus' face fell. He felt quite sorry for Sarah. It was about the worst thing he could imagine, being expelled from Hogwarts in the first year! He reckoned she'd have to spend the rest of her life with a restricted wand, or even none at all!

"What's wrong, Potter? Why do you look so miserable?" Snape demanded, interrupting Albus' gloomy thoughts. Albus looked up in surprise. It was quite out-of-character for the portrait to take an interest in a student's feelings.

"I guess I don't think it's very fair," he admitted in a guarded tone, "Sarah doesn't deserve to be expelled." Snape's expressionless eyes gazed at him for a long time. Albus thought they were rather like dark caves. He wanted to know what was going on inside, but the very thought of what he might encounter was chilling.

"You don't think so?" Snape finally asked. Albus shook his head vehemently in response and Snape's eyes narrowed.

"Well…it's highly likely that she won't be," he replied after a moment's hesitation. Albus was confused by the answer. He couldn't tell if the portrait was giving him an honest prediction or if he was merely trying to comfort him.

"Were you a Deatheater?" Albus asked suddenly. Snape continued to gaze at him, surprisingly unaffected by the boy's bold question or the sudden change of subject.

"You already know the answer to that question," he responded in an even tone, "Why are you asking it?" Albus looked down in embarrassment.

"I…I just…I can't really explain," he admitted, "I just really want to know."

"What is it you want to know?" Snape asked in an impossibly calm voice. Albus' expression was troubled as the fought to put his moral qualms about Snape into words.

"Well, come on, then! If you have to know, it might as well be over and done with." Snape urged him irritably. Albus bit his lower lip nervously, then after taking a deep breath he whispered, "How could you do it? How could you be a Deatheater?" Snape's face betrayed no emotion as he explained, "I chose to become a Deatheater because I believed they would help me to become more powerful."

"But, didn't you know what Voldemort was planning? Didn't you know he meant to kill innocent people?"

"I did. That is, the evidence was there. I wasn't concerned about it."

"Not concerned about it?" Albus exclaimed in horror.

"I reasoned that none of them were bothering themselves about me and my problems, so why should I concern myself about them."

"Well, that's just sick!" Albus replied disgustedly.

"If you like," he responded, his expression still impossibly devoid of feeling, "You aren't the first to inform me of the unworthiness of my character." Appalled, Albus shook his head.

"What did you expect me to say, boy?" Snape demanded, "That I joined up with the Dark Lord with only the purest of intentions?" Albus shrugged.

"I don't know," he conceded, "I guess I thought there might be more to the story."

"I'm afraid I must disappoint you, Potter," he responded grimly.

"Why did you start spying for Dumbledore, then," Albus asked, hoping to prod Snape's image into confessing some more noble purposes. His blank eyes glanced away from Albus, as he considered the best way to answer the question. Instinctively, Albus prepared himself for yet another concocted, adult simplification that was meant to sound wise, but divulged absolutely no useful information. To his surprise, Snape supplied no such response.

"The headmistress is attempting to summon me," he informed him by way of a good-bye. Without another word, he was gone. Albus collapsed into an armchair in frustration, kicking an empty cup across the stone floor. The orange cat darted from behind the chair and chased the cup playfully. Albus watched the cat with a deep feeling of melancholy. Perhaps, Mr. Malfoy was right. If he continued trying to understand Snape, he might indeed go mad.

After breakfast, Albus went up to the hospital wing to inquire about his friends. The nurse allowed him in and Albus was elated to find Scorpius sitting in his pajamas at Rose's bedside, cheerfully enjoying a bowl of porridge.

"Rose is back!" Albus cheered, but his friend quickly shushed him.

"She's asleep!" he whispered, "She's still recovering."

"What are you doing in here?" Albus demanded in a subdued voice.

"They let me sleep in here since we got back so early this morning," he explained, "I just now woke up and Hoppy brought me this, since I've already missed breakfast."

"Is Rose going to be alright?" Albus asked urgently and Scorpius smiled.

"Of course!" he assured him, struggling to keep his voice down, "She's doing better already! She was talking to us on the way back from the hospital. She's devastated, actually, because McGonagall told her she needn't worry about taking her exams this week!" Albus snorted with laughter and had to stifle himself with a pillow to keep from waking the invalids.

"Where are the others?" Albus asked when he'd regained his composure.

"Wright's there," he answered, gesturing toward another bed in the far corner, "The others, I guess, took an early Christmas holiday."

"What about Sarah?"

Scorpius' expression became a little glum at the mention of Sarah's name.

"McGonagall took her away," he explained sadly, "I expect she'll be expelled."

"Snape's portrait said it wasn't likely," Albus related, trying to sound comforting, though he too was worried about her. They chatted for sometime in whispers while Scorpius finished his breakfast. Then Hoppy insisted that they leave so they wouldn't awaken her patients.

As the two of them made their way through the portal to the common room, they were greeted by an anxious and irritated looking mob of Slytherins, including all the rest of their Quidditch team.

"What are you two doing?" the Quidditch captain exclaimed furiously. Albus and Scorpius glanced at each other in confusion as the unexpected assault.

"We've been looking everywhere for you!" the captain continued and the others glared their agreement.

"Why?" Scorpius asked. The mob grunted incredulously.

"I don't know," responded one of the Slytherin sarcastically, "Maybe because we think our team would play better if we weren't missing two players!"

Their eyes widened in realization.

"Merlin's Beard!" Scorpius exclaimed, "We have a match today!"

A few frantic minutes later, they were out on the pitch in the bitter cold, warming up their broomsticks and going over their game plan. Albus couldn't believe he'd managed to forget all about the match. He'd been worrying over it nonstop for weeks! It was the final match before the holiday and they were playing against Gryffindor, whose team included his brother as well as two of his cousins. Albus kept one eye on the stands as he practiced chasing the quaffle around the pitch with his team mates. He knew his family was coming to see the match and though he'd spent the week trying to convince himself that he wouldn't let it bother him, he felt a sick feeling rising in his stomach as the start of the game became closer and closer.

"Potter, pay attention!" shouted the team captain over the biting wind, as Albus narrowly missed being knocked out of the air by a bludger. Albus righted himself on his broomstick and shot after the quaffle again. He'd reasoned to himself over and over that as former members of the Gryffindor team, his parents were obliged to sit among the Gryffindor fans and cheer on their team. He knew that it was nothing personal and that his parents would still be proud of him if he played his best, but as he observed the stands beginning to fill with bundled- up students, staff, and spectators, he wanted more and more to find a good hole to crawl into. Overhead, Scorpius was darting top-speed from one side of the pitch to the other, working on his agility and not paying attention to his friend's distress. Albus glanced around again at the Gryffindor stands, scanning among the heavy fur hats and thick mufflers for familiar faces. Suddenly, a red blur darted past his nose, knocking him to one side and nearly making him loose his grip on his broom handle. His brothers mischievous laughter echoed across the pitch.

"Whatcha looking at, Al?" he demanded snidely.

"Nothing," Albus grumbled.

"Nothing, eh?" James chuckled as he hovered beside him on his broomstick, "So, you weren't looking around for Dad and Mum, then?" Albus' eyes narrowed.

"No," he lied.

"So, you aren't at all worried that they might be too ashamed of their little Slytherin to show their faces in public?" taunted James. Albus rolled his eyes.

"Of course, they're going to come," he insisted, "I was just trying to see where they're sitting…if it's all the same to you!"

James chuckled again and retorted, "Well, all right then, if that's the way you're going to be! I'll just go about my own business…By the way, Al…you're looking in the wrong place." Albus' expression became confused. His brother was grinning at him smugly. He cocked his head toward the green and silver stands located directly behind the Slytherin goals and Albus followed the gesture. There, in the second row, sat his parents and sister, as well as Teddy Lupin and his cousin, Victoire. Albus stared at them in amazement as his parents waved emphatically and Lily held up a sign that read, "Go, Albus!" in green letters. Albus smiled sheepishly and waved back at them. James made a clucking sound with his tongue.

"What a shame! And it will be all the more tragic when we annihilate you!" With that, he flew off toward the Gryffindor holding area.

"Come in, all!" demanded the Slytherin captain and all the players landed and followed their leader into their own holding area for his customary pre-game rant.

"My family's sitting on our side!" Albus whispered to Scorpius excitedly.

"I know, I saw your mum talking to my mum," responded Scorpius, "My parents are here too." Albus glanced around the edge of the curtain at the Slytherin stands again. Sure enough, he recognized Beatrice Malfoy, smiling radiantly as she chatted with another mother and looking like a snow queen from a fairy tale in a mantle of pure, white fur. Her husband sat beside her, with a somewhat more solemn expression as his gaze explored the playing fields.

"Potter! Malfoy!" bellowed the captain, "Pay attention when I'm encouraging you!" The two of them chortled. None of the team captain's pre-game speeches were what anyone would call 'encouraging'. Mostly, they were a review of each team member's personal flaws and shortcomings punctuated by frequent reminders that any one of them could easily be replaced if they didn't deliver. Finally, the whistle blew and the team emerged to take their positions for the start of the match.

It was, by far, the most interesting game of the term and Albus played exceptionally well. He'd been told by the older team members from their first practice that his selection for the position of chaser was highly strategic. The Gryffindor keeper had been the bane of Slytherin's existence for the previous four years. She was a virtual wall between the hoops and the quaffle and she was none other than Albus' own cousin, Gina Weasley. The Slytherin captain considered Albus' experience growing up playing against her to be their secret weapon and it was sound reasoning. Albus knew most of his cousin's moves, having been trained to thwart them by Gina Weasley herself. In fact, during the previous game, Slytherin had been up by ten goals and Albus had scored all of them but one. They'd only lost the match because James had caught the snitch before Albus and the other Slytherin chasers could get a fifteen goal lead. The Gryffindor chasers hadn't managed to score a single goal. Public opinion was that they'd become lazy due to the fact that between the outstanding skills of their seeker and keeper, there wasn't a pressing need for them to do much in order to win a match. The Slytherin strategy, therefore, was to rack up an excess of one-hundred and fifty points before the golden snitch was spotted, leaving James Potter unable to catch the snitch without forfeiting the game.

Sure enough, before twenty minutes had passed, the Slytherin team had made their quota, with Albus scoring the vast majority of the goals himself and assisting with the others. The rival seekers paced around the pitch at a moderate pace during the first part of the game, searching among the players for the telltale glint of gold. But once Slytherin managed to shut the Gryffindor seeker out of winning the game by catching the snitch, the Gryffindor players began to churn the air like sharks that tasted blood. Their objective had changed from scoring points to preventing Scorpius from catching the snitch, apparently by death if necessary.

Suddenly, Scorpius found himself dodging bludgers and fouls left and right. The crowd of spectators became riotous in their cheers and cries of 'foul!' that went for the most part unnoticed by Mr. Willard, the referee. Scorpius flew for his life as the opposing team's chasers and beaters turned their attentions to chasing and beating him. The Slytherin beaters dove in and out between Scorpius and his attackers, trying to free him up so he could concentrate on finding the snitch. The team captain managed to knock a bludger into Mansel Reddy, one of Gryffindor's chasers and, in response, Declan Finnigan, one of the Gryffindor beaters, rammed the back of his broomstick. The second Slytherin beater leaped from his broomstick and grabbed his Gryffindor counterpart by the neck, dragging him ungracefully to the sand. Mr. Willard ran frantically toward them, blowing his whistle, but no one seemed to notice as the two wrestled each other.

The second Slytherin beater, rammed into a second Gryffindor chaser who seemed intent on knocking Scorpius off his broom. With his attacker distracted, Scorpius shot off toward the other end of the pitch, searching desperately for any sign of the one object that could end all the madness. The second Slytherin beater and the second Gryffindor chaser continued in a ramming contest until they too were fist-fighting on the ground, despite Mr. Willard's shouts for them to stop immediately. The two remaining chasers hovered overhead shouting encouragement to their teammates while Randy Weasley screamed at them to help him defend their goals or at least distract Scorpius Malfoy. Meanwhile, the Slytherin chasers had no mercy on the unassisted Gryffindor keeper and scored two more goals. Now the only one on Scorpius' tail was James. Both seekers were searching for the snitch, one to catch it and the other to prevent its capture. Scorpius darted from one side of the pitch to the other, changing direction and speed rapidly. James remained a broom's length behind him, ready to pounce in case he should break after a golden shimmer.

Scorpius quickly tried to come up with a plan. He suspected James could out fly him and would happily pummel him into the ground if he made a move toward the snitch. He needed to put some space between them. Suddenly, James dropped off his tail and shot like a bullet across the field. Scorpius followed instinctively, scanning the direction James was flying for some sign of the snitch. All of a sudden, James went into a dive, aiming straight for the sand. Scorpius did the same, chasing James as he hurtled toward the ground. The crowd gradually turned their attention from the squabble unfolding on the ground to the Gryffindor seeker's amazing stunt and the stands were filled with gasps of concern as James Potter headed straight for a nasty crash. The next moment, there were cheers of excitement as he pulled out of the dive at the last moment and skated across the field with only the straw of his broomstick scraping up a cloud of sand behind him.

Triumphantly, he glanced over his shoulder where he fully expected to find Scorpius Malfoy spiting up mouthfuls of dirt. To his dismay, Scorpius was not to be found on the ground, rather, he was gliding top-speed in the opposite direction, toward a tiny, glittering ball of gold. James shot after him immediately and made up an impressive amount of the distance between them. However, Scorpius had too much of a head start and to the cheers of the Slytherin fans, he scooped up the snitch in his hand with a triumphant cry.


	26. EpilogueAuthor's Note

That evening, the great hall was buzzing with excitement. The news had spread that the cursed students and teacher were finally recovering and that the culprit had been apprehended. The identity of the binder remained a mystery, though many students were whispering theories and accusations. Albus and Scorpius said nothing on the subject. They were the only two students who knew Sarah Vineyard was the binder. Even Wright, who had been reinstated to the seclusion table, seemed to have had his memory modified so try though he might, he could not answer any of the questions the other students asked about his ordeal.

The Gryffindors, to their credit, were not taking their defeat on the Quidditch pitch with any attitude of self-pity or dismay. Rather, they made their declarations of retribution and were already forming plans to increase their training, change up their tactics, and slaughter their rivals as soon as the next term resumed. Across the hall, the Slytherins were elated and unaffected by the Gryffindor's vows of revenge. They kept congratulating the members of their team, particularly Albus and Scorpius, for their brilliant performance and were confidently assuring themselves that the Quidditch Cup was as good as theirs for the year. They were so pleased with themselves, their spirits couldn't be deflated even by the arrival of their Head of House. Professor Schlegel was still quite frail-looking and off his color as he made his way toward the head table, but otherwise, he seemed to be recovering tolerably well. Several of the Slytherins welcomed him cheerfully as he passed by.

"We sure missed you in Potions class, Professor," lied Sonora Grey, as she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you, Miss Grey," he answered distractedly. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed when he caught sight of the decadent chocolate cakes placed intermittently on the table.

"Who said you could have cake?" he demanded furiously and the Slytherins all winced as the scrumptious-looking sweets disappeared.

"We DID win the Quidditch match today!" Virgil Bumgarner whined pitifully. Schlegel crossed his arms and glared at him.

"Fine," he retorted, "The Quidditch team can have cake. Everyone else gets nothing until you catch up in house points!" A large, moist slice of cake reappeared on the table before each of the Quidditch players. Albus smiled broadly and made a big show of tasting a huge bite.

"Mhmmm-mmm!" he announced. The others grumbled in annoyance.

"You want my piece, mate?" Scorpius asked Albus. He wasn't particularly fond of sweets.

"Hey! No fair, Malfoy! He's already got one!" Donner complained as Jesse and Malcolm chorused, "Give it here, Malfoy! I'll take it!"

"Back off, you lot," Sonora Grey interrupted, "He's giving it to me! Aren't you, Malfoy?" Scorpius shrugged his shoulders in response and smiled slyly.

"What'll you give me for it?"

Sonora gave a sneaky glance toward the head table, making sure no teachers were watching, then leant over and whispered something in Scorpius' ear.

"Eugh!" he cried in outrage, "That's disgusting!" The older Slytherins had a good laugh at Sonora's rejection and she crossed her arms and scowled.

"Pathetic little boys…" she grumbled.

At that moment, Professor McGonagal rose and went to the podium. The noise in the hall drifted away as she prepared to address the students. Albus glanced up at the head table. His father and mother were sitting at the end next to Hagrid, as the headmistress' guests. They were smiling warmly at a first-year Hufflepuff who was shyly requesting that his mother sign her autograph to a photo of her old professional Quidditch team. His father caught Albus' gaze and gave him a wink and a smile.

"Good evening, students!" Professor McGonagall greeted them cordially, "I want to take a moment to congratulate all of you on your hard work this term. Many of you have made tremendous growth both in your academic studies and in your friendships with your fellow students. I'm certain the effort you've put forth will not only be reflected in the exams you take this coming week, but will follow you throughout the rest of your time here at Hogwarts. On behalf of all the staff, I wish you the best of luck on the upcoming mid-term exams." The students clapped politely and the headmistress continued.

"Before I lose your attention, I have a few other announcements. The study hour times have been posted in the library as well as on each of your common room bulletin boards. It is expected that each student refrain from any noisy or disruptive activities during these times so that all students have ample opportunity to prepare for their examinations. Any infractions will result in a loss of house points! Also, in the interest of safety, students will remember that broomsticks are not to be flown in the corridors or in any classroom." The headmistress paused and gave the Gryffindor table a stern look. Many of the Quidditch players were grinning mischievously.

"Finally, a word of thanks to two of our students. Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy, I'm told, were instrumental in discovering the counter curse which restored to us our classmates as well as our fine potions master."

"Well, bully for Potter and Malfoy," Donner grumbled sullenly, still despondent after being cheated out of his cake.

"As a reward for their actions," the headmistress continued, "Each of them are awarded thirty house points!" The Slytherin table clapped happily at the good news, then erupted into fervent cheers and applause as the chocolate cakes began to reappear on the table before them.

"Hooray for Potter and Malfoy!" Donner corrected himself gleefully as he heaped a giant piece onto his plate.

Albus looked intently at his friend, whose eyes were as wide as saucers as his classmates smiled and congratulated him. Albus knew that Scorpius wasn't use to anything other than constant abuse from the wizarding world and as Albus watched his reaction, he was reminded of the first time he'd ever seen Scorpius.

He'd been five or six years old at the time and he and James were accompanying his father on a trip to Gringott's Bank. He remembered the musty, gloomy atmosphere of the entrance hall. It was pouring rain outside and there was a backup of people at the doors who were waiting for a break in the deluge before venturing out. Albus remembered the claustrophobic feeling of so many people crammed under the portico and the sound and sight of the heavy rain water cascading from the mouth of a stone gargoyle that hung from the side of the building and splashing onto the cobblestones. As they were waiting, the chatty and somewhat frantic mood of the mob suddenly hushed into a silent ire. Albus and James had observed the faces of the other witches and wizards suddenly going quiet and hostile and could sense the unrest without understanding the cause.

"What's wrong, dad?" James had asked worriedly.

"Hush, son," his father had told him, "Hold on to your brother's hand." James had squeezed his hand tightly as the two small boys craned their necks to catch a glimpse of whatever the crowd was glaring at so hatefully. Finally, they caught sight pf a tall man with white-blonde hair who was attempting to push through the thick crowd, into the bank, while guiding a small blonde boy at his side. The boy stared straight ahead, not making eye contact with the dozens of adults who seemed to detest him with such strange intensity. Even so, Albus noticed a sense of alarm in his eyes, as though he instinctively knew that he and his father could be in danger. The crowd began to clamor with angry mutterings and whispers and those who stood between the man and the entrance glared menacingly at him and refused to make way. Frustrated, the man was requesting for them to let him pass, when all of a sudden, a wizard behind him flicked his wand and the water that was gushing from the mouth of the stone gargoyle jetted toward the man, hitting him square in the back. The force of the spray caused him to stumble forward and the crowd in front of him scattered in disgust as if afraid he would accidentally touch them and impart some fatal illness. Several others laughed ruefully as the man gathered up his little boy and fled into the building without even looking back to confront his assailant.

"Who were those people?" James had asked their father excitedly.

"That was Draco Malfoy and his son," they'd been told.

"Why does everyone hate them?" Albus had asked.

"They're angry, son," Harry Potter had explained, "Because very soon Draco Malfoy's parents are likely to be released from prison and many people don't think they should be allowed to go free." James and Albus had looked at each other in confusion.

"But, if they shouldn't get out of prison, why are they?" James had asked.

"Well, they've served their time. Their sentence is over." James' small face had scrunched up in thought.

"Were they put in jail because they were dark wizards?"

"Yes, son."

"Are they good wizards, now that their sentence is over?" Harry Potter had smiled at his sons' inquisitiveness. He never ceased to be amazed at the simple wisdom of his children.

"That, my dears, is a very good question. We'll just have to wait and see."

It would be years before Albus would see the blonde boy again, standing alongside his father on platform 9 ¾, but he hadn't forgotten the confused and hurt expression on his face as he gazed helplessly at the mob of people who hated him for the crimes of grandparents he'd never even met. It was a stark contrast to the expression of surprise and elation that currently occupied Scorpius' face.

After dinner ended, Scorpius and the other Slytherin second years went down to study for their exams and Albus went with his father to visit Rose in the hospital wing.

"I hope you weren't too embarrassed when Professor McGonagall made that announcement," his father told him. Albus shook his head.

"No, I didn't mind at all," he assured him, "Besides, I think it meant a great deal to Scorpius."

"Oh?" his father asked with a knowing smile, "Why's that?"

"Well, for as long as he can remember, he and his family can't even go out shopping in Diagon Alley without always having to worry if people are going to bother them…maybe even try to hurt them. Frankly, after a while, that kind of life is probably downright depressing! But maybe now Scorpius will see that it isn't always going to be like that. I expect it gives him some hope for the future." His father nodded approvingly.

Rose seemed in good spirits as she sat up in bed, eating her dinner. Her parents sat on either side of her bed and all three greeted them warmly.

"There's the little trouble maker!" Albus' Uncle Ron joked.

"What have I done?" Albus cried defensively.

"Nothing, Albus," his Aunt insisted, "Don't listen to your Uncle."

"I wish I could have seen the game," Rose told him, "Everyone says you played really well!"

"That's an understatement," stated Uncle Ron, "We got toasted, buttered, and served!" He poked his daughter playfully on the shoulder.

"You and Freddy need to get out on that pitch next year, that's all. Get rid of some of those dozy chasers!" Rose rolled her eyes.

"So, I'm supposed to stay head of my class _and_ save the Quidditch team? Any other outrageous expectations I should know about?"

"Yes," her mother replied, " Do a better job of keeping your cousins out of trouble!"

"I said, 'outrageous', Mummy, not 'impossible!'" Rose countered sarcastically and everyone laughed. They had a nice talk until it began to get late. Albus' Aunt Hermoine pointed out that if Rose wanted to be well enough the next day to try and take her exams, she was going to need her sleep. Rose's eyes widened anxiously as she realized how late it was and her father laughed.

"Don't worry, you'll be brilliant! Merlin's Beard, girl, you've had those textbooks memorized since you were eight!" Rose looked slightly relieved as she kissed her parents good-bye.

Albus' family walked him through the corridors, toward the staircase descending into the dungeons.

"And are you ready for your exams?" his aunt asked. Albus shrugged.

"I guess so," he replied without much confidence.

"Of course he is!" his uncle insisted and he turned to advise his nephew. "You just have to keep up your confidence! If you start to get anxious, think of everyone you know that's dumber than you are, that's already passed these tests!" Aunt Hermoine rolled her eyes.

"What's wrong with that?" Uncle Ron complained, "Say, d'you remember Crabbe and Goyle? Two stupider goons never walked this earth and they always managed to pass their exams! If they could do it, surely a sharp kid like Al can manage!" Aunt Hermoine crossed her arms and shook her head, but she didn't bother to argue with her husband's logic.

"Not to add anymore pressure to your week," his father changed the subject, "But how's that assignment I gave you coming along."

"Oh…" Albus replied uneasily, "Er…I did try…but I guess I haven't done too well." Albus glanced up at his father and was relieved that he didn't seem at all disappointed.

"I did try," he repeated for good measure.

"I believe you, Albus," his father assured him. Suddenly, they were joined by Albus' mother and sister, who bounded down the stairs disappointedly, braids flying behind her.

"We were saying good-night to James," his mother explained. Lily ran to her brother and embraced him wildly.

"I don't want to go!" she whined as she clenched his arm.

"Now, now," their father laughed, "The boys will be home in less than a week for Christmas." Lily sighed and looked down gloomily.

"It won't be long, Lil," Albus insisted cheerfully, "Hey, what are you getting me for Christmas?" Lily's face scrunched up playfully.

"I'll never tell!" she declared matter-of-factly as she yanked a colorful knit hat over her red braids.

"It'll be nice to have the family together for Christmas," said his mother.

"There's nothing better than Christmas time!" Lily agreed.

"Not for everyone," their father stated softly and they all looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean, Daddy?" Lily asked, "Who doesn't like Christmas?"

"I didn't always like Christmas," his father explained, "Until I met Uncle Ron here. I never had any real family around and I generally spent Christmas cleaning up Dudley's wrapping paper. Then when I came to Hogwarts, I met Ron, and he and Gran and Grandad welcomed me into their family." His wife smiled and kissed him.

"If only everyone had such good friends." He reached down and took Lily's hand. Albus met his father's glance and sighed. He knew without his saying, what he was driving at.

"Well, it's time for us to be going home!" Albus hugged each of his family members and watched as they disappeared down the corridor. Perturbed, he turned round and headed down into the dungeons.

The common room was nearly abandoned. Most of the students were studying in the library or turning in early. The only one left was Jeremy Wright, who sat fretful and alone on a sofa, trying desperately to levitate a book on the floor. He flicked his wand wildly toward the book, which spun around like a firecracker, then landed with a plop on the floor. Wright swore in frustration and wiped his face with his hands.

"You're waving your wand too much," Albus said softly. Wright turned around in surprise.

"It's just supposed to be a swish and a flick," he explained further. Albus brandished his wand and spoke the incantation. The book rose easily from the floor and glided into Wright's hands. Wright tossed it onto the floor again and leant back against the sofa in exhaustion. He looked miserable. Albus sighed and asked, "Are you staying here for the holiday?" Wright shrugged.

"If I manage to pass these exams, I guess I am," he admitted, "Otherwise, I guess I have to go back to a foster home or an orphanage." Albus looked down at his feet.

"Well, don't let yourself get discouraged. I mean, think of all the people who you know who are dumber than you that have already passed the test." Wright shrugged unconfidently. Albus hesitated as they both stared at the book on the floor.

"Well, I was thinking, if you wanted to go anywhere for Christmas, you could come to my house." Wright looked up in surprise.

"I..I…I don't think so…" he stammered, "But thanks."

"Right, well…anyway. If you change your mind, my family's real nice and…well…we'd be happy to have you."

"I think I'll just stay here and work on my spells," Wright replied after a long pause, "But maybe some other time, you know. Maybe over the summer…if I get to stay."

"Sure," Albus replied, secretly relieved that his invitation had been declined, "Well, good-night."

"Good-night, Potter."

Albus walked around the sofa and made his way to the boys' stairwell.

"Just a swish and flick…" he heard Wright whisper behind him as he attempted to levitate the book for the hundredth time.

**_If you enjoyed this story, you might also like "Albus Potter and the Legend of the Changelings", which is still in progress, but next in the series. Please feel free to review, especially if there was something in the story that didn't make sense. Thanks!_**


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